Second child dies from measles-related causes in West Texas, where cases near 500 : NPR

A second school-aged baby in West Texas has died from a measles-related sickness, a hospital spokesman confirmed Sunday, because the outbreak continues to swell.

Aaron Davis, a spokesperson for UMC Well being System in Lubbock, Texas, stated that the kid was “receiving remedy for problems of measles whereas hospitalized” and was not vaccinated. The hospital declined to say which day the kid died.

Neither the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention nor the Texas State Division of State Well being Companies embody the dying of their measles stories issued Friday. Spokespeople for the state well being division and U.S. Well being and Human Companies Division did not instantly reply to requests for touch upon Sunday.

A unvaccinated school-age baby died of measles in February in Lubbock — the primary measles dying within the U.S. in a decade. In early March, an grownup in New Mexico who was unvaccinated and didn’t search medical care turned the second measles-related dying.

Greater than two months in, the West Texas outbreak is believed to have unfold to New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas, sickening practically 570 folks. The World Well being Group additionally reported circumstances associated to Texas in Mexico.

The variety of circumstances in Texas shot up by 81 between March 28 and April 4, and 16 extra folks have been hospitalized. A staff from the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention is on the bottom in Texas aiding with outbreak response.

And nationwide, the U.S. has greater than double the variety of measles circumstances it noticed in all of 2024.

Well being Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, has delivered a tepid message on the significance of vaccination in opposition to measles, saying it needs to be inspired whereas additionally sowing doubt within the vaccine’s security. The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been used safely for greater than 60 years and is 97% efficient in opposition to measles after two doses.

Specialists and native well being officers anticipate the outbreak to go on for a number of extra months if not a yr. In West Texas, the overwhelming majority of circumstances are in unvaccinated folks and youngsters youthful than 17.

With a number of states dealing with outbreaks of the vaccine-preventable illness, some fear that measles could price the U.S. its standing as having eradicated the illness.

Measles is a respiratory virus that may survive within the air for as much as two hours. As much as 9 out of 10 people who find themselves vulnerable will get the virus if uncovered, in keeping with the CDC. The primary shot is really useful for kids ages 12 to fifteen months, and the second for ages 4 to six years.