No reported measles cases in Travis County right now, so how was it found in our wastewater?

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Health officials announced this week that the measles virus was detected in the Austin-Travis County area’s wastewater. There are no reported measles cases in the area right now, so how did it show up in the wastewater?

Dr. Desmar Walkes, the medical director for Austin Public Health and Travis County Health Authority, said the source of that detection is unknown right now, but it could have come from a couple of different things.

“The evidence shows that at the time when we collected the wastewater, there was the presence of that virus in the wastewater,” Walkes said. “The source of that, we don’t know at this point, because we’ve not had any reported cases, nor have we any tests pending from people that were suspected of having measles.”

Walkes said the virus could’ve shown up in the wastewater from someone who was sick and didn’t seek medical attention, or APH is unaware of their illness, or it could’ve been from someone who was traveling through the area.

“It’s significant for us because we’ve not had a detection of measles here in the water before now, and we want to make sure that we let our partners know in the healthcare system that this has occurred, just in case there was someone here who had measles and exposed others in our jurisdiction so that they can be, you know, alert and testing as they have been people that come in with symptoms,” Walkes said.

So far this year, Travis County has had only two positive measles cases in 2025, both of which were travel-related. One of those cases was reported in February, and the other in April.

Wastewater is collected from sewage treatment plants, then APH sends it off for testing. Walkes said the traces of the virus were detected in samples that were taken July 6, which were reported to the health agency on July 18.

“As people use the bathroom, they are depositing information about whether or not they are sick as well,” Walkes explained. “So, we take that information when we do the tests, and it gives us a snapshot of whether or not there is the presence of communicable disease in the water that we’re testing.

“It’s a way that we do surveillance in our community so we can understand whether or not there is something out there that may be making our population ill, and in this case, we picked up measles,” Walkes said.

Walkes said wastewater testing wasn’t something that was widely done prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but APH “found it to be a valuable tool in our tool belt for ways that we do surveillance for communicable disease,” following COVID.

When the COVID pandemic hit the Austin-Travis County area, wastewater surveillance would often reveal the virus in the water a few days before an uptick in reported COVID cases, Walkes explained.

“[Wastewater testing] has really, has helped us understand what’s going on from a population health perspective, particularly when we don’t have a lot of testing going on or testing that’s being reported,” Walkes said.

While the wastewater results don’t reveal anything about who has measles or how many people in the area have measles, Walkes said it’s an important reminder to be vigilant and protected against the virus, and APH is ramping up surveillance as well.

“In this instance, we picked up measles, so we’ve been monitoring and have had heightened surveillance because we have an outbreak in the state of Texas, which appears to be winding down, but we know that it’s not over,” Walkes said. “We know that people have been traveling. We know that there are still people who are not vaccinated, and so because we know those things, we want to be sure that we can get the message out to people, so that they can be aware of what’s going on, so they can get out there and get vaccinated.”

How to get vaccinated against measles

APH offers the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine at a low cost or for free at its Shots for Tots and Big Shots clinics and different locations.  Those interested can check the APH vaccine clinic schedule online to find a clinic near them.

CommUnityCare also offers appointments that can be scheduled online.

The MMR vaccine is also available at H-E-B pharmacies with no copay for people 14 and older participating in: 

• Medical Access Program (MAP)
• Medical Access Program Basic
• Sliding Fee Scale Program

The MMR vaccine is also offered at doctors’ offices and other pharmacies. Children under the age of 14 will require a prescription from a healthcare provider to receive the vaccine at a pharmacy.