Two people have died in the rapidly spreading measles outbreak in the US state of Texas, US Health Secretary and vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the 26th of February. Later, the Kennedy-led Department of Health and Human Services corrected him, confirming only one death. This is the first recorded measles death in the US in a decade, according to the British broadcaster BBC and Reuters.
The victim was an unvaccinated child who died at a hospital in Lubocck, Texas, with a positive measles test, according to the state health department.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported on Tuesday that 124 cases have been reported since the outbreak began in early January, all except five of those people were unvaccinated. Almost all – 101 – were children aged 17 years or younger.
Measles is spread through the air by coughing or sneezing. Patients have experienced symptoms such as high fever, red, watery eyes, stuffy nose, cough and a rash starting on the face, said Lara Johnson, chief medical officer at Lubbock Hospital.
The US declared measles “eradicated” in 2000, but the country has seen outbreaks in recent years as opposition to vaccination has grown.
ACCORDING TO THE INFECTIOUS DISEASES SOCIETY OF AMERICA, THE LAST MEASLES DEATH IN THE US WAS RECORDED IN 2015.
The current outbreak is concentrated in north-west Texas, but measles has also recently been detected across the state border in New Mexico, as well as in Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Nine cases have now been reported in New Mexico, four of which are children. The New Mexico Health Department has warned that “because measles is highly contagious, new cases are possible”.
Kennedy said measles outbreaks are common and there have been four measles outbreaks in the US so far this year. The CDC defines an outbreak as three or more related cases. He also said that his department is closely monitoring the current outbreak.
Measles can cause particularly devastating complications in pregnant women and young children, including pneumonia, neurological disorders, hearing loss and death. Survivors can develop a serious brain and nerve disease called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE).
During the whole of last year, 285 measles cases were reported in the US, the highest number since 2019, when 1 274 measles cases were reported.
According to the Texas Department of Health, so far in the current outbreak 18 people have had to go to hospital due to complications. Kennedy said a total of 20 people are in hospital under quarantine.
New Mexico’s congressional delegation has urged Kennedy to urgently address the current outbreak, calling on him in a letter on Monday to “launch a vaccination campaign”, reinstate recently fired federal health workers and take other measures.
“Last Friday, 24 CDC employees were fired who were tasked with training lab workers and helping with the response to the outbreak,” wrote two state senators and three members of the House of Representatives – all Democrats. They warned that these state cuts could make outbreaks even worse and put all Americans at risk in the face of future health emergencies.
Meanwhile, free vaccination clinics are being organised in the areas affected by the outbreak and in Lubbock.
ACCORDING TO CBS NEWS AND LOCAL MEDIA, THE OUTBREAK IN THE STATE OF TEXAS IS BELIEVED TO HAVE STARTED IN A RURAL MENNONITE COMMUNITY WHERE VACCINATION RATES ARE LOW.
According to the CDC, most US children receive two vaccines that protect against measles, with a 97% effectiveness rate for receiving both vaccines.
In Texas, the vaccination rate is 94.3%, according to the CDC, which is below the recommended 95% that the Infectious Diseases Society of America says is needed to protect even those who have not been vaccinated, commonly referred to as “herd immunity”.
“Measles has been rare in the US, but outbreaks are occurring in regions where vaccination rates have declined,” the American Academy of Paediatrics said in a statement. “Most children who contract measles have not been vaccinated with the recommended vaccines or are not old enough to receive the measles vaccine.”