2 school-age children have died in Texas measles outbreak, as total cases pass 480
A second child has died of measles in Texas amid the ongoing outbreak of the highly infectious disease, state officials announced.
On Sunday (April 6), the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported that, prior to death, the school-age child had tested positive for measles and was being treated in a hospital in the city of Lubbock. They died on Thursday (April 3) of measles pulmonary failure, the child’s doctors said.
“The child was not vaccinated and had no reported underlying conditions,” the department’s statement noted.
The measles outbreak in West Texas began in January. The first pediatric death, also in an unvaccinated, school-age child, was announced in February and marked the United States’ first measles fatality since 2015.
Related: Are you protected against measles? Do you need a booster shot? Everything you need to know about immunity
In addition to these two children’s deaths in Texas, a third death was reported in a New Mexico resident that was possibly linked to the outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is still conducting an independent investigation to confirm that the third death is related to the outbreak.
As of April 4, the Texas DSHS has confirmed 481 cases of measles in the states’ South Plains and Panhandle regions. That’s up from 124 cases in late February.
Most of the cases reported to date in Texas have been in children, and so far, 56 people have been hospitalized for their infections. Based on the DSHS’s outbreak dashboard, Gaines County has reported the majority of the cases — more than 300 — followed by Terry and Lubbock counties, which are reporting cases in the dozens.
Additionally, according to the dashboard, the vast majority of people affected have been unvaccinated. Of the 481 cases reported, 471 affected people were unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status. Three were documented in people who have received just one dose of the measles vaccine; seven cases have been reported in people who received two doses, the number recommended for maximum protection.
One dose is 93% effective against measles infections, while two doses are 97% effective. That immunity is typically lifelong, and the shots not only guard against measles, but also protect against long-term complications of the disease, some of which can be deadly. So even if an individual survives their initial bout of measles, they can face long-term health consequences or fatality after the fact.
Across the whole U.S., there have been 607 cases of measles confirmed by the CDC so far in 2025. (This total may not match the full number being reported by individual states, as the CDC has an independent process for confirming cases.)
Of these CDC-confirmed cases, 97% have affected people who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown. The remaining 3% impacted people with one or two doses of the measles vaccine. About 12% of those infected have been hospitalized.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.
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