First death reported in Texas measles outbreak marking first fatality in over a decade

Officials have confirmed the first measles-related death in West Texas as cases reach 124, making it the largest cluster in the state in the past three decades.    

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center spokesperson Melissa Whitfield confirmed the death today. 

A public health official told USA Today that it was a Gaines County resident who died in a hospital in Lubbock. 

DailyMail.com has reached out to officials for further information on the deceased patient. 

The Texas Health Department confirmed the reported cases crossed the 100 mark on February 25. Overall, 18 people had been hospitalized. 

Officials said 62 cases are of children between the ages of five and 17 while 39 are of toddlers aged four and below. 

Only five of those infected have been vaccinated with the measles (MMR) vaccine. The majority are unvaccinated or their vaccination status remains unknown. 

Between 2012 to 2021, no deaths due to measles were reported in Texas and no such deaths were reported in the US in 2023 and 2024. 

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. 

The disease causes tiny white spots inside the mouth, flat red spots on the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet, ear infections and an intense fever. 

In extreme cases, the disease can cause pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and may lead to death. 

The outbreak is the state’s largest in nearly 30 years and has been concentrated in what the Texas Department of State Health Services called a ‘close-knit, under-vaccinated’ Mennonite community – a Christian sect that has historically shown vaccine hesitancy.

It has also spread into New Mexico, with nine cases currently confirmed.

The epicenter has previously been reported to be in Gaines County in west-central Texas, which had reported 80 confirmed cases. 

Meanwhile, Terry County to the north has 21 cases, Dawson County has seven, Yoakum County has five, Martin County has three, Ector County has two and Lubbock as well as Lynn counties have a case each.

Gaines county, with a population of just 21,598, has one of the highest rates of vaccine exemptions in the state and all of the confirmed cases are in unvaccinated people.

The measles vaccine (MMR) is 97 percent effective as preventing the virus and is required for children to attend school, but some states allow exemptions based on religious reasons including Texas.  

Across the country, the percentage of children seeking exemptions has risen over the past decade, from 0.76 percent in 2014 to 3.3 percent during the 2023-2024 school year.

According to the CDC, in 2024 vaccination coverage among kindergartners declined for all shots – down to 93 percent for MMR. 

Meanwhile, the Texas Department of Human and Health Services reports 91 percent of kids had received the MMR shot, which is below the ideal vaccination rate. 

Ninety-four percent coverage is considered the standard for herd immunity.

Dr Lara Johnson, a pediatrician and chief medical officer at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, said she saw the first measles case in her community about a month ago.

Now, she’s warning this is just the ‘beginning of the outbreak, and ‘we’re going to see a lot more illness among unvaccinated kids over the next few months.’

Dr Johnson revealed most of the young patients are being hospitalized for breathing difficulties and are in need of supplemental oxygen, while others have very high fevers, which can be fatal in young children.

She wrote for Business Insider: ‘Two doses of the measles vaccine [given at 12 to 15 months and again between 4 and 6 years] prevent 97 percent of measles cases.’

With the outbreak spreading in Texas, she says it is best to keep vulnerable children ‘out of the grocery store and crowded places as much as possible’ and ‘if you’re worried about your baby, call your pediatrician.’

From her experience, Dr Johnson says parents of vaccinated children shouldn’t be overly concerned as they are ‘very unlikely to get it.’

But for parents of unvaccinated children, she says the telltale sign of the virus is a rash which starts on the face. 

She also said it isn’t too late for children to get a vaccine – even after exposure.

One infected person can spread the infection to 12 to 18 other people in an unvaccinated population.