An adult who was infected with measles has died in New Mexico, state health officials announced Thursday, though the virus has not been confirmed as the cause.
The person who died was unvaccinated and did not seek medical care, a state health department spokesperson said in a statement. The person’s exact age and other details were not immediately released.
The person was from Lea county, just across the state line from the west Texas region where 159 measles cases have been identified and a school-age child died last week – the first US measles death in a decade. New Mexico health officials have not linked the outbreak there to the Texas cases.
The person is the 10th in Lea county to have a confirmed measles infection. Seven were unvaccinated. The vaccination status of the other three is unknown. Six of the cases are in adults and the rest are in children younger than 17.
On Tuesday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that they were sending a team to Texas to help local public health officials respond to the outbreak, which began in late January.
Measles – one of the most infectious diseases in the world – is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to nine out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the CDC.
The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is safe and highly effective at preventing infection and severe cases. The first shot is recommended for children aged 12 to 15 months, and the second for those aged four to six.
“We don’t want to see New Mexicans getting sick or dying from measles,” said Dr Chad Smelser, the deputy state epidemiologist. “The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is the best protection against this serious disease.”
The crisis in Texas comes as the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) transitions under the leadership of Robert F Kennedy Jr, a well-known vaccine skeptic. Kennedy has long promoted the discredited theory linking childhood vaccinations to autism. One of his first actions in office was to postpone a public meeting on immunization.
Kennedy has raised alarm among pediatricians, vaccine experts, and lawmakers after publishing an opinion piece that focused on vitamin A and nutrition as treatments for measles and did not endorse vaccines. In response to the Texas measles outbreak, Kennedy wrote for Fox News about the benefits of “good nutrition” and vitamin A, but did not explicitly recommend highly effective vaccines.
According to the CDC, measles is fatal for one to two out of every 1,000 infected children. The virus also weakens the immune system over time and leaves those affected more vulnerable to future infections.
In the US, about one in five unvaccinated people will require hospitalization from measles, according to John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2024, that rate was even higher – about 40% of people with measles were hospitalized.
