Texas Reports First Death in Measles Outbreak

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) recorded the first death from measles in the ongoing outbreak in the South Plains and Panhandle regions. The school-aged child who was not vaccinated was hospitalized in Lubbock, Texas, last week and tested positive for measles.

As of Feb. 25, 124 cases of measles across nine West Texas counties have been confirmed since late January. Most of the cases are in children that are not vaccinated. According to DSHS, 18 people have been hospitalized over the course of the outbreak, but NBC news reported that number is higher as hospitalizations of at least 20 people have been recorded at one Lubbock hospital alone. As of Feb. 25, nine measles cases also have been reported in neighboring New Mexico, but health officials have not confirmed if the cases are connected.

Most cases (80) have been concentrated in Gaines County, which is a rural community with many families that send children to small private schools or are homeschooled. As CMM previously reported, Gaines County also had the third highest vaccine exemption rate in Texas last year. 

The child’s death in Lubbock marks the first measles death to be reported in the U.S. since 2015 when a woman living in rural Washington died.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness, which can cause life-threatening illness to anyone who is not protected against the virus. During a measles outbreak, about one in five people who get sick will need hospital care, and one in 20 will develop pneumonia, DSHS said. Rarely, measles can lead to swelling of the brain and death. It can also cause pregnancy complications, such as premature birth and babies with low birth weight.

Measles can be transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. People who are infected will begin to have symptoms within a week or two after being exposed. Early symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. A few days later, the telltale rash breaks out as flat, red spots on the face and then spreads down the neck and trunk to the rest of the body. A person is contagious about four days before the rash appears to four days after. 

The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella or MMR vaccine. Two doses of the MMR vaccine prevent more than 97% of measles infections. A small number of vaccinated people can occasionally develop measles. In these cases, the symptoms are generally milder, and they are less likely to spread the disease to other people.

DSHS and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend children receive one dose of MMR at 12 to 15 months of age and another at 4 to 6 years. Children too young to be vaccinated are more likely to have severe complications if they get infected with the measles virus. However, each MMR dose lowers the risk of infection and the severity of illness if infected.