A Texas child has died from measles amid an outbreak across Texas and New Mexico that has sickened more than 130 people, authorities said Wednesday.
The child is the first person to die from measles in the U.S. since 2015. The victim, who has not been identified further, was not vaccinated against the disease, officials said.
In Texas, 124 cases of measles have been reported since mid-January, all in the far western part of the state. Additionally, at least nine cases have been recorded in eastern New Mexico, though authorities in that state said it was unclear if the outbreaks were connected.
All but five of the cases in Texas affected people who were not vaccinated against the disease, according to the state health department. Only five people older than 18 have been infected, while 39 children ages 0-4 and 62 children ages 5-17 have been diagnosed. Five peoples’ ages have not yet been reported.
Though measles was essentially eradicated from the United States around 2000, the disease has made a comeback in recent years. The vaccine against measles is 97% effective, but powerful vaccine skeptics such as newly confirmed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have helped convince people it is not necessary.
Gaines County, where 80 of the 124 Texas cases were reported, has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Texas. According to state data, 14% of school-age children in the county opted out of at least one vaccine, a number that could be higher since many children are homeschooled in the rural county.
The last person to die from measles in the U.S. was a woman living in rural eastern Washington in 2015. Prior to that, it had been 12 years since an American measles death.
