Unvaccinated child dies in Texas measles outbreak
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A vial containing the measles-rubella vaccine. Photo: Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A West Texas city reported Wednesday that an unvaccinated child with measles died after being hospitalized amid the recent outbreak.
The big picture: It's the first death officials have reported in the outbreak that began late last month. At least 124 people have been infected in the state so far.
- It's the largest measles outbreak in Texas in 30 years, following smaller outbreaks in 2013 and 2019.
- The surge in cases this year has prompted an uptick in vaccinations among parents who had previously declined to vaccinate their children, NBC News reported.
Driving the news: Officials for the city of Lubbock, in West Texas, and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) confirmed the death in a joint press release Wednesday.
- "The patient was an unvaccinated school-aged child, and passed away in the last 24 hours," the press release stated.
- They said no further details were forthcoming.
- A representative for Lubbock Mayor Mark McBrayer did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment.
While eight U.S. states have reported measles cases this year, the majority of infections have occurred in Texas, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- The outbreak has sparked fears among health officials that the disease could be rebounding in the U.S. amid falling vaccination rates. Measles was previously declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000.
- The vast majority of patients infected with the respiratory virus in the current outbreak have been unvaccinated.
Zoom in: Measles is a "highly contagious" respiratory virus that can be spread via respiratory droplets in coughs or sneezes or contact with an infected person, per the CDC.
- Measles can survive in the air up to two hours after an infected person has left the area.
- Measles symptoms typically appear one to two weeks after exposure, and include fever, cough, runny nose, and rash, as well as red, watery eyes.
- It can especially cause dangerous complications, like pneumonia, in children under five years old.
Go deeper: Texas measles outbreak grows
Editor's note: This story was updated with new developments and additional context.
