The outbreak in Texas is the largest in nearly 30 years.
A child infected with the measles has died amid a growing outbreak in West Texas, officials announced Wednesday.
The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the death in a news release.
“The school-aged child who was not vaccinated was hospitalized in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles,” the agency said.
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The child wasn’t identified but was treated at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, though the facility noted the patient didn’t live in Lubbock County.
According to the latest numbers provided by the Texas Department of Health, 124 measles cases have been identified since the outbreak in late January. Eighteen of the patients have been hospitalized. Among all the cases, five of them are vaccinated. The rest are unvaccinated, or their vaccination status is unknown.
There are 39 cases among children four years old and younger, 62 cases of patients between the ages of five and 17 years old, and 18 cases of those 18 years old and above. The five other cases have been listed as pending.
The data from health officials also shows that Gaines County alone has 80 measles cases. The county also has one of the highest rates —nearly 14 percent—in the state of school-aged children who opt out of at least one required vaccine.
The outbreak is largely spreading in the Mennonite community of small towns in West Texas.
Brownfield, Texas currently has 21 cases. Brownfield Mayor Eric Horton said he believes the measles vaccine is safe, saying it has been used for years to help stop the spread in the United States.
“I’ve never seen it this close, ever,” Horton said. “I know that we’ve had a few outbreaks in years past but as far as right here, making national news, that is shocking.”
The outbreak in Texas is the largest in nearly 30 years.
Measles spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes, according to the World Health Organization.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, measles is one of the most contagious diseases. Measles infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose, and a rash all over the body. Patients are considered to be contagious from four days before to four days after a rash appears.
Nine measles cases have also been identified in neighboring New Mexico. All the cases in the state are in Lea County, which borders Gaines County in Texas. According to the state health department, people may have been exposed at a grocery store, elementary school, church, Nor-Lea Hospital, and Walgreens in Hobbs, New Mexico.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
