A school-aged child has died from measles in West Texas, marking the first measles-related death in the United States in a decade. The child, who was not vaccinated against the disease, was hospitalized in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles.
The Texas Department of State Health Services and Lubbock health officials confirmed the death to The Associated Press. The child wasn’t identified but was treated at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, though the facility noted the patient didn’t live in Lubbock County.
“This is a big deal,” Dr. Amy Thompson, a pediatrician and chief executive officer of Covenant Health, said Wednesday at a news conference. “We have known that we have measles in our community, and we are now seeing a very serious consequence.”
The Texas outbreak is believed to have started in a rural Mennonite community with low vaccination rates.
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