In Texas, a second child has tragically passed away due to measles, although the exact cause of death is currently unknown, as reported by the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to attend the child’s funeral on Sunday, confirmed a spokesperson to NBC News. These two children, along with an adult in New Mexico suspected to have succumbed to measles, mark the first reported deaths related to the disease in the country in ten years.
The measles outbreak continues to ravage, with 481 confirmed cases in Texas alone since January, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Among these cases are six infants and toddlers from a daycare center in Lubbock who tested positive in the last two weeks, as reported by NBC News. Additionally, two of these children are part of the 56 individuals hospitalized due to measles in the region since the outbreak began earlier this year.
It is devastating to note that around one to three out of every 1,000 children infected with measles face life-threatening respiratory and neurological complications, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pneumonia, a common consequence of measles, is the leading cause of death from the disease in young children, affecting about one out of every 20 infected children.
While the outbreak initially emerged in Texas in late January, it has now spread to several other states.
