SEMINOLE, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 27: Signs point the way to measles testing in the parking lot of the Seminole Hospital District across from Wigwam Stadium on February 27, 2025 in Seminole, Texas. Eighty cases of measles have been reported in Gaines county with one death reported. (Photo by Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images)
Controversial doc gets measles while treating unvaccinated kids—keeps working – Ars Technica
2025-04-21T23:28:10Z
Ben Edwards has grown popular in Texas for providing unproven measles treatments.
A controversial doctor providing unproven measles treatments to unvaccinated children in West Texas recently contracted the highly infectious virus himself amid the mushrooming outbreak—and he continued treating patients while visibly ill with the virus.
The doctor’s infection was revealed in a video posted online by Children’s Health Defense (CHD), the rabid anti-vaccine advocacy organization founded and previously run by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time anti-vaccine advocate who is now the US secretary of health. Kennedy headed CHD until January, when he stepped down in anticipation of his Senate confirmation.
In the video, the doctor, Ben Edwards, can be seen with mild spots on his face. Someone asks him if he caught measles himself, and he responds, “Yeah,” saying he was “pretty achy yesterday.” He went on to say that he had developed the rash the day before but woke up that day feeling “pretty good.” The video was posted by CHD on March 31, and the Associated Press was the first to report it.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person infected with measles is considered contagious from four days before the rash appears to four days after it appears. The virus is among the most infectious known to humans. It spreads in the air and can linger in the airspace of a room for up to two hours after an infectious person is present. Up to 90 percent of people who lack immunity—either from prior infection or vaccination—will get sick upon an exposure.
In the video, Edwards is wearing scrubs, apparently in a clinic with patients, parents, and people from CHD. In an email to the AP, Edwards claimed that he “interacted with zero patients that were not already infected with measles” during the time he was infectious. “Therefore, obviously, there were no patients that were put in danger of acquiring measles since they already had measles.” However, the video shows him in a room with other people who do not appear sick, and he is not wearing a mask.
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