Utah health workers found measles germs in sewer water. They found the germs weeks early. This was before any sick people went to the doctor. This new trick could help Texas too.
Testing sewer water for germs has a name. Doctors call it wastewater testing. That means they check waste from toilets and sinks. They look for signs of sickness in it. Texas has tried this trick once, in Houston. It could become one of the state's best tools against measles.
The Utah Public Health Lab tests sewer water. It checks water from cities across the state. Sick people shed the measles germ in their body waste. Lab workers can find that germ in sewer samples. Sometimes they find it days before a doctor sees a sick patient. Sometimes it is weeks before.
Utah built this system during COVID-19. Back then, the lab tracked COVID germs in sewer water. That helped warn hospitals about new waves of sick people. Now the same lab checks for measles too. Utah has counted 499 measles cases this year. That is more cases than any other state with an outbreak right now, says Medical Daily.
Kelly Oakeson runs the gene tests at the Utah lab. He said the lab can tell which type of measles is in the water. "We can get really specific and say, yeah, this really is measles, a wild type, circulating in the population," Oakeson told ABC4.
Sewer testing does not count how many people are sick. It only shows the germ is there. Utah's own health team warns one test could mean one sick person. Or it could mean many sick people. Still, the early warning buys extra time. Health workers can send out shots fast, before an outbreak grows big.
The trick has worked outside Utah too. In Colorado, health workers found measles in sewer water in a place called Mesa County. One week later, doctors found two sick people in that same area. Federal health leaders wrote up that case in a report this year. They said sewer testing can warn cities before or during a measles outbreak.
This trick worked once in Texas. Test crews checked Houston sewer water in early 2025. The crew came from Baylor College of Medicine, UTHealth Houston, and the Houston Health Department. They found measles germs in the water first. Doctors did not find two sick travelers in that same area until ten days later. Rice University then checked the test a second time.
Texas has fought measles all year. Early this year, the state had at least 175 measles cases. Most cases came from a federal jail in Hudspeth County. That jail holds immigrants and others, far from the Rio Grande Valley. Two more cases showed up in Frio County. That county sits closer to South Texas, near a family jail in Dilley.
El Tejano wrote about this measles outbreak before. That story ran after Texas health workers said measles had killed people in the state. Read that story here: https://www.eltejanorgv.com/two-people-died-in-a-texas-measles-outbreak-here-is-what-rgv-families-need-to-know/
Texas runs a state plan that checks sewer water for germs. The state works with cities and water plants to do it. Records show Houston as a test site for measles. It is not clear yet if any Rio Grande Valley city checks its own sewer water for measles.
Doctors say the best fix against measles is simple. Two MMR shots protect about 97 out of 100 people. Parents who are not sure their kids got both shots should call a doctor. A local health clinic can help too.
