Texas Reports First US Measles Death In A Decade Amid Growing Outbreak

Texas health officials reported on Wednesday that a child in West Texas has died from measles. This is the first measles-related death in the U.S. in ten years.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness, which can cause life-threatening illness to anyone who is not protected against the virus. Measles can be transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes, according to Texas Department of State Health Services.

Health Expert Warns of Rising Measles Outbreaks as Vaccination Rates Decline

During a briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Lara Johnson, Chief Medical Officer for Covenant Health Service Area, spoke about the child's death and emphasized the importance of vaccination, Reuters reported.

She said that experts once believed measles had been eliminated in the United States and that large outbreaks would no longer happen. However, this has changed over the past 20 years.

Dr. Johnson explained that measles can only be prevented if enough people are vaccinated. As vaccination rates drop across the country, more outbreaks are likely to occur.

So far, more than 130 cases have been confirmed in Texas and New Mexico. Officials say the outbreak started in a rural Mennonite community where most people were not vaccinated. The community is close-knit, and many children are home-schooled.

Texas Measles Outbreak Spreads Across 10 Counties

During a meeting of US President Donald Trump's cabinet on Wednesday, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that two people had died in the Texas measles outbreak. However, he did not share any details about the second victim.

Officials reported that at least 124 people in West Texas had been infected with measles since early February. Almost all of them—except for five—were unvaccinated. Earlier this week, nine more cases were confirmed in eastern New Mexico, near the Texas border.

The outbreak has now spread across about 10 counties. Officials also said that a person from Gaines County, who was contagious, traveled to multiple places in and around San Antonio, nearly 400 miles away.

Measles Outbreak Worsens in West Texas, Dozens Hospitalized

The measles virus has mostly spread in small rural towns in West Texas, where many oil rigs are located. According to state health department spokesperson Lara Anton, most cases are in a "close-knit, undervaccinated" Mennonite community.

Gaines County has reported 80 cases so far. Many families in the area choose homeschooling or private schools. It also has one of the highest rates in Texas of school-aged children skipping at least one required vaccine—nearly 14% did not get a required dose last school year.

Over 20 measles patients have been treated at Covenant Hospital, including the first person diagnosed in the outbreak.

Some patients developed serious breathing problems that led to bacterial pneumonia, requiring oxygen tubes to help them breathe. A few needed to be put on ventilators, but Dr. Johnson did not share the exact number due to privacy concerns.