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Two people have died in Texas amid a rapidly spreading measles outbreak, marking the first measles-related deaths in the US in almost a decade, US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra announced Wednesday. According to the Texas health department, one of the victims was an unvaccinated child. Speaking at President Donald Trump's first cabinet meeting, Secretary Becerra did not release information about the second victim.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported on Tuesday that it was aware of 124 cases diagnosed since the outbreak began in early January, up from 90 cases on Friday. Almost all cases - 101 - were in patients 17 and younger.
The US declared measles "eliminated" in 2000, but the country has seen outbreaks in recent years amid a rise in anti-vaccine sentiment. The last US measles death was in 2015, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
The current outbreak is centred in north-western 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).
Currently, there are nine cases reported in New Mexico, four of whom are children.
Kennedy, a past vaccine sceptic, said that measles outbreaks are common and there have been four measles outbreaks so far in the US this year. The CDC defines an outbreak as three or more related cases. He also said his department is monitoring the current outbreak closely.
A measles infection can have particularly devastating complications for pregnant women and young children, including pneumonia, neurological impairment, hearing loss and death.
Survivors are at risk of developing a degenerative brain and nervous system disease known as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE).
So far, 18 people in the current outbreak have had to go to hospital, according to the Texas health department. Kennedy said altogether 20 people are in hospital to quarantine.
Five people in Texas who were infected had been vaccinated, the department also said.
Meanwhile, areas affected by the outbreak are hosting free vaccination clinics, with the city of Lubbock, where the child victim died, holding hours-long clinics each day this week.
