Measles Continues Spread in West Texas; One Dead, 124 Infected

Thought Question: What steps can you take to make sure people in your community are safe and healthy? 

A child has died and at least 124 people have been infected in West Texas’ measles outbreak. It's the largest in the state in 30 years.

Nine more cases have been recorded in a nearby county in New Mexico. The death was announced in a statement Wednesday by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The agency said the death was of a “school-aged child who was not vaccinated.” It's the first death from measles in the US since 2015. The total number of identified cases in Texas has more than doubled in the last week.     

Measles is an airborne respiratory virus. It's best known for causing a patchy rash and high fever. The disease also causes flu-like symptoms. These include cough, nasal congestion, and red eyes.

If not treated, measles can be fatal. The best way to combat measles, experts say, is vaccination. The MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine has been widely available since 1963. Before then, the US averaged about 3 million to 4 million cases each year. In 2024, the number was 285. Those cases were mostly in places like West Texas with lower vaccination rates. 

The US Secretary of Health and Human Services is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He's a recent Trump appointee who has come under scrutiny for past statements questioning if vaccines work. On Wednesday, he said the US government is “watching” the outbreak. He described it as “not unusual.” Local officials in Texas, however, emphasized the human toll of the disease.They talked about the importance of vaccination. 

“It’s heartbreaking,” Katherine Wells, director of public health for Lubbock, Texas, told The Washington Post. “My heart just goes out to the family. And I hope this will help people reconsider getting children vaccinated.”