An unvaccinated child died of measles in West Texas, Texas, the first death in an outbreak that began late last month and the first time since 2015 from measles in the United States.
The Texas Department of Health Services said in a statement Wednesday that the death was a “unvaccinated school-age child” and was hospitalized last week. Lubbock health officials also confirmed the death, but did not provide further details. A press conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Lubbock’s Covenant Children’s Hospital did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office.
Measles outbreaks in rural West Texas have risen to 124 in nine counties, state health officials say the largest in Texas in nearly 30 years. There are also nine cases in eastern New Mexico.
In 1998, Canada announced the elimination of measles, but as vaccination rates decline, new cases are growing rapidly. In the first two months of this year, 95 people were infected, while all 147 were in 2025.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed this is the first measles death in the country since 2015. Measles cases were the worst in nearly three decades in 2019, with cases increasing in 2024, including an outbreak in Chicago, which had more than 60 diseases.
The outbreak spread to the Mennonite neighborhoods in western Texas, where small towns were separated by a large number of open land by oil rigs, but connected to it due to work, churches, grocery shopping and other errands between towns.
Most of the time, people under 18 years old
According to the Texas Department of Health, the vast majority of cases in the area are among those under the age of 18. Measles, mumps and rubella vaccines are recommended for children 12 to 15 months old in the first shot, which is safe and very effective in preventing infections and severe cases, with the second shot between 4 and 6 years old.
Lara Anton, a spokesman for the state Department of Health, said children need to enter kindergartens in public schools in the U.S., but cases of measles in West Texas in West Texas have been concentrated in the “close-connected, persistently underdeficient” Mennonite community.
Gaines County, with 80 cases, is one of the highest rates for school-age children in Texas, who opted out of at least one required vaccine, and nearly 14% of nearly 14% of K-12 children in the 2023-24 school year.
Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said in Canada, there are reportedly 95 cases of measles so far this year. Last year in Canada, there were 147 cases of measles in the whole year.
Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba reported new cases last week. Local health officials said most cases have not been vaccinated yet.
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