A school-aged child in West Texas has died from measles, marking the first United States death from the disease since 2015.
The child, who was unvaccinated, had been hospitalized in Lubbock, Texas, according to Lauren Adams, a spokesperson for the city.
The outbreak in West Texas continues to grow, with the Texas Department of Health Services reporting 124 confirmed cases as of Tuesday—an increase of 34 since last week.
Most cases have been identified in children aged 5 to 17. Eighteen people have been hospitalized, with local health officials confirming that most were admitted due to respiratory complications.
At President Donald Trump’s first cabinet meeting on Wednesday, he deferred a question on the outbreak to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who said, “We are following the measles epidemic every day.” Kennedy initially claimed there had been two deaths, but Texas officials later confirmed only one.
The outbreak remains concentrated in Gaines County, where 80 cases have been recorded, but infections have spread to eight other counties. The majority of cases involve unvaccinated individuals or those with unknown vaccination status, though five cases have been reported in people who said they had been vaccinated.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne virus that can cause fever, rash, red eyes, and cough. Severe cases can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, and, in some instances, death. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that up to three in 1,000 children with measles will die from complications.
Dr. Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease expert at UTHealth Houston, warned that “these outbreaks last between two to six months. That’s a long time. That’s a lot of kids infected … death is rare, but tragic when it happens, but there are a lot of other sequelae, encephalitis, for example, and deafness.”
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Health officials continue to stress the importance of vaccination. Free measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination clinics have been set up in Lubbock, administering about 70 doses since the outbreak began. Vaccination rates in Gaines County remain low, with nearly 20% of incoming kindergartners in the 2023-24 school year lacking the MMR shot.
Experts warn that the outbreak is likely to worsen. “I very rarely say I’m 100% sure of something, but I am 100% sure we will see an increase in cases … Texas as a state is under vaccinated, so there are susceptible people,” Troisi said. She noted that measles spreads easily, lingering in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area.
Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development, expressed concern that the outbreak could persist due to low vaccination rates.
He also pointed to an upcoming Houston rodeo, which attracts families from West Texas, as a potential risk for further spread. “It will continue as long as the virus continues to find unvaccinated kids,” Hotez said.
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