First Person Dies in US Measles Outbreak

The measles outbreak in West Texas has claimed its first victim, the first US fatality since 2015 of a disease that was considered eradicated 25 years ago. A Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center rep confirmed the death, and the AP reports, citing Texas Department of State Health Services, that the victim was a "school-aged child who was not vaccinated" and was hospitalized last week. Texas health department data say that "the vast majority of cases in the area are among people younger than 18."

The outbreak, largely in a Mennonite community, has now spread across nine counties and 124 cases, with at least 18 hospitalizations. However, Dr. Lara Johnson, a pediatrician at Covenant Children's Hospital in Lubbock, tells NBC News that her hospital has treated "around 20" children and that the hospitalization data is outdated. Gaines County, which has 80 cases so far, has about 14% of school-age kids who've opted out of at least one mandated vaccine. Johnson says none of her patients had been vaccinated with the MMR vaccine. An area of New Mexico that borders West Texas has confirmed nine measles cases.

(More measles stories.)