Texas state health officials have reported the death of a child from measles, the first death in an ongoing two-state outbreak of the disease and the first in the US since 2015.
The child was hospitalized in Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said in a statement. It also confirmed that the child, who was school-aged, was not vaccinated.
“This is a big deal,” said Dr Amy Thompson, a pediatrician and chief executive officer of Covenant Health, at a press conference on Wednesday. “We have known that we have measles in our community, and we are now seeing a very serious consequence.”
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the measles virus, and while symptoms typically include a high fever, cough, and rash, it can lead to more serious complications, such as swelling of the brain and pneumonia.
Babies and young children are particularly at risk of developing serious complications, with nearly one to three of every 1,000 children with measles dying from them.
Thompson confirmed that as of Wednesday, more than 20 patients had been admitted to the Covenant Children’s Hospital, “several of those who have required intensive care as a result of having the measles.”
“As you can see from today’s news, this virus can have severe and deadly consequences.”
The child’s death marks the first death from measles in the US since 2015, and in an ongoing outbreak that has seen cases reported in both Texas and New Mexico, with numbers of those affected continuing to grow.
Earlier this week, we reported that there had been 99 cases of measles across both states. As of February 25, that number has grown to 133, according to reports from the Texas DSHS and the New Mexico Department of Health.
Measles is, however, a preventable disease; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that the best way to protect against it is with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Around one in five people in the US who get measles and aren’t vaccinated end up in hospital.
A 22-year push by US health officials to ensure widespread vaccination previously led to the eradication of the disease in the country in 2000. Nonetheless, it has since returned to the US in multiple outbreaks, with the CDC attributing this to cases brought in from abroad, and pockets of people in US communities that haven’t been vaccinated.
The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.
