Texas Confirms Outbreak’s First Measles-Related Death

Feb. 26, 2025 — A school-age child has died in Texas’s ongoing measles outbreak, marking the first US death from the virus in a decade.

The child was not vaccinated against measles and had been hospitalized in the West Texas town of Lubbock last week after testing positive, the Texas Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday in a news release.

The circumstances of the death were not detailed, but the release noted that “during a measles outbreak, about 1 in 5 people who get sick will need hospital care and 1 in 20 will develop pneumonia. Rarely, measles can lead to swelling of the brain and death.”

Since the outbreak started in January, 124 people in Texas have been confirmed to have measles, including 18 who have been hospitalized. Five people in Texas who developed measles were previously vaccinated, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. About half of the Texas cases are among children ages 5-17 years old, and another one third are in children 4 years old and younger. Across the border in New Mexico, the state has reported nine cases linked to the outbreak.

Health officials expect more cases during the outbreak and are actively working to help people get vaccinated against the disease. Measles symptoms usually begin 7-14 days after infection, according to the CDC. Between 1 and 3 of every 1000 children infected with measles die of severe complications, the agency says, due to respiratory and neurological complications.

SOURCES:

Texas Department of Health and Human Services: “Texas Announces First Death in Measles Outbreak,” “Measles Outbreak — Feb. 25, 2025.”

New Mexico Health: “New Mexico Case Count by County (as of 02/25/2025).”

CDC: “Measles Symptoms and Complications.”