Measles Outbreak in Texas Claims First US Death in a Decade, Sparks Vaccination Rush

Image credits: Source Link

The recent measles outbreak in Texas has claimed its first life, marking the first death from the disease in the US in nearly a decade. According to health officials, the victim was an unvaccinated child who died in a Texas hospital after testing positive for measles. This tragic event has sparked a rush to vaccinate, with many parents taking their children to health centers to get the measles vaccine. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 124 cases diagnosed since the outbreak began last month, with almost all cases - 101 - being in patients 17 and younger.

The US declared that measles had been "eliminated" in 2000, but the country has seen outbreaks in recent years amid a rise in anti-vaccine sentiment. The current outbreak is centered in north-west Texas, with measles also recently found across the state's border in New Mexico, as well as Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New York City, and Rhode Island, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr claimed that there had been two deaths, but Katherine Wells, the director of the public health department in Lubbock, Texas, clarified later that there has only been one. The measles infection can have particularly devastating complications for pregnant women and young children, including pneumonia, neurological impairment, hearing loss, and death.

A measles infection can have severe complications, and survivors are at risk of developing a degenerative brain and nervous system disease known as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). The disease's spread comes as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long spread falsehoods about the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, begins his tenure as President Donald Trump's health secretary. Kennedy has downplayed the outbreak, saying: "It's not unusual. You have measles outbreaks every year." However, doctors say that was wrong, and the outbreak is a cause for concern. The vaccination rates in Texas are 94.3%, according to the CDC, which is below the 95% level that the Infectious Diseases Society of America says is needed to also protect those who are not immunized, commonly called "herd immunity".

The CDC says the MMR vaccine is "very effective" at protecting people against those illnesses. Two doses of the vaccine are 97% effective at preventing measles, the agency says. The Texas outbreak is believed to have started in a rural Mennonite community with low vaccination rates, according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner, and local media. Most US children receive two immunization shots to protect against the illness, which together are 97% effective in protecting against measles, according to the CDC. New Mexico's congressional delegation pushed Kennedy to urgently address the current outbreak, urging him to "launch a vaccination promotion campaign" and rehire recently fired federal health workers, among other measures, in a letter on Monday.

Here are some key statistics related to the outbreak: * 124 cases diagnosed since the outbreak began last month * 101 cases in patients 17 and younger * 18 people have been hospitalized so far in the outbreak * 9 cases reported in New Mexico, with 4 being children * 285 cases of measles reported in the US for all of last year, the highest number since 1,274 in 2019 * 94.3% vaccination rates in Texas, below the 95% level needed for herd immunity * 97% effectiveness of two doses of the MMR vaccine in preventing measles. The outbreak has sparked a surge in vaccination efforts, with many areas affected by the outbreak hosting free vaccination clinics. The city of Lubbock, where the child victim died, is holding hours-long clinics each day this week.