Texas sees second measles-related death amid growing outbreak
A second child has tragically died from measles as the outbreak of the highly contagious virus continues to spread in western Texas.
The school-aged child was not vaccinated, had no underlying health conditions and was in hospital suffering complications from measles, Aaron Davis, the vice-president of UMC Health System, said, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has faced a backlash over his handling of the outbreak, visited Texas on Sunday in the wake of the death, which is the third overall in recent weeks.
The southern US state has reported more than 480 cases of measles so far this year as of Friday, a jump from 420 earlier in the week. The outbreak has extended to neighbouring states.
"This unfortunate event underscores the importance of vaccination," Mr Davis said in a statement. "Measles is a highly contagious disease that can lead to serious complications, particularly for those who are unvaccinated."
The child - an eight-year-old girl - died early on Thursday.
In a statement posted on social media, Kennedy confirmed the girl's death.
"My intention was to come down here quietly to console the families and to be with the community in their moment of grief," he said in the statement.
He also said he was engaging with officials there to "support Texas health officials and to learn how our HHS agencies can better partner with them to control the measles outbreak". Kennedy said he was deploying a team - as he did in March - to help distribute vaccines, medications and other supplies, among other support services.
"The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine," Kennedy wrote, referring to the measles, mumps and rubella jab.
In February, an unvaccinated six-year-old girl in the local Mennonite community was the first child to die of measles in the US in a decade. In March, an unvaccinated man died in New Mexico after contracting the virus, though his cause of death is still under investigation.
President Donald Trump on Sunday told reporters aboard Air Force One that he believes the outbreak is largely contained.
"It's so far a fairly small number of people, relative to what we're talking about," he said. "It's something that people have known about for many years. This is not something new."
"We'll see what happens. If it progresses, we'll have to take action. Very strong action," he said in response to a question from the BBC.
The US has recorded more than 600 cases of measles so far this year, nearly three times as many as the 285 cases that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded all of last year.
Many of this year's cases - nearly all in unvaccinated people - are related to the outbreak that began in western Texas.
Cases in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas are likely linked to the original outbreak, public health experts say.
Similar news
