An unvaccinated child has died of measles in Texas, the first death in the current measles outbreak in the west of the state and the first in the U.S. since 2015, say health officials.
“The school-aged child who was not vaccinated was hospitalized in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles,” the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a Wednesday release.
Other details about the deceased, including their name and case severity, remain unknown.
The department told The Independent later in the day that they were only aware of one death associated with the outbreak. Speaking with President Donald Trump and his cabinet members, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., had said that there were two deaths and two more hospitalizations than the state reports.
The news comes as Texas authorities say they have identified 124 cases in the South Plains and Panhandle regions since late January. Most of the cases are in Gaines County, with numbers growing from 45 to 80.
The majority of those stricken with the virus have been between the ages of five and 17 years old — or even younger.
Of those cases, 18 of the patients have been hospitalized. And, only five people were vaccinated. The rest were either unvaccinated or had a vaccination status that is unknown.
“Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in the outbreak area and the surrounding communities. DSHS is working with local health departments to investigate the outbreak,” the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a Tuesday update.
A spokesperson for the state health department told The Associated Press that cases in West Texas have been concentrated in a “close-knit, undervaccinated” Mennonite community.
Earlier in the week, they issued a health alert after a person with measles traveled between San Marcos and San Antonio before they knew they were infected.
“There is a very good possibility that hundreds of thousands of folks have come in contact with (the person),” Metro Health Deputy Director Dr. Anita Kurian said, according to KSAT.
The University of Texas at San Antonio had been conducting an open house that day.
Kurian said there was no word of anyone in the impacted areas contracting the illness so far, but that there “is a cause for concern so long as measles exists in other communities.”
Cases of measles have also spread to other states. In New Mexico, nine have been reported.
Measles, which can survive in the air for up to two hours, can cause serious illness and death. Infections can lead to brain swelling and blindness. And, up to nine out of 10 of those susceptible will get the virus if they have been exposed.
The best way to prevent infection is two doses of a vaccine against measles. Vaccination clinics have been set up in response to the threat.
