'I Feel Like I've Been Lied To': When a Measles Outbreak Hits Home [View all]
I Feel Like Ive Been Lied To: When a Measles Outbreak Hits Home
From a lone clinic in Texas to an entire school district in North Dakota, the virus is upending daily life and revealing a deeper crisis of belief.
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It wasnt until early this spring that he started to notice something unfamiliar coming through the door: aches that lingered, fevers that wouldnt break, discolored patches of skin that didnt make sense. At first, he blamed it on a bad flu season, but the symptoms stuck around and then multiplied. By late March, a third of his patients were telling him about relatives who couldnt breathe. And then Kiley started coughing, too.
His wife, Carrollyn, had recently tested positive for Covid, but her symptoms eased as Kileys intensified. He went to a doctor at the beginning of April for a viral panel, but every result came back negative. The doctor decided to test for the remote possibility of measles, since there was a large outbreak spreading through a Mennonite community 40 miles away, but Kiley was vaccinated.
I feel like Im dying, Kiley texted a friend. He couldnt hold down food or water. He had already lost 10 pounds. His chest went numb, and his arms began to tingle. His oxygen was dropping dangerously low when he finally got the results.
Positive for measles, he wrote to his sister, in mid-April. Just miserable. I cant believe this.
Twenty-five years after measles was officially declared eliminated from the United States, this spring marked a harrowing time of rediscovery.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/us/i-feel-like-ive-been-lied-to-when-a-measles-outbreak-hits-home.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Q08.pfl-.2OaTHzJx6-zR&smid=url-share