(Reuters) -A second child with measles has died in Texas as hundreds of cases of the infectious disease have been recorded in recent weeks, prompting U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to visit the state, media outlets reported on Sunday.
The latest victim, an 8-year-old girl, died of “measles pulmonary failure” at a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, making her the second confirmed U.S. measles death in the past decade, the New York Times reported, citing records it obtained.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reported death or Kennedy’s planned trip. Local health officials in Texas did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reports.
Kennedy’s trip was arranged after he was informed of the death, according to Axios, which first reported the news. NBC News said Kennedy planned to attend the child’s funeral scheduled for Sunday.
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, said in his immediate response to the first measles death in February that such outbreaks are commonplace.
Some people opposed to vaccines argue vaccination should be a personal choice. Others say growing vaccine skepticism has resulted in pockets of unvaccinated or under-vaccinated individuals who are fertile ground for infection.
Pediatricians and other doctors are pushing back against vaccine hesitancy and warning parents that vitamin A and other supplements touted by vaccine critics will not protect their children from the highly contagious and potentially fatal disease.
The Texas Department of State Health Services on Friday reported 59 new measles cases in three days – a 15% jump – for a total of 481 in the state since late January.
Measles cases also have been reported in other states, including New Mexico, Oklahoma and Colorado. Another child in Texas died from measles in February. An unvaccinated New Mexico adult tested positive for measles after dying in March, although the state medical examiner was investigating the exact cause of death.
As of Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a weekly nationwide increase of 124 measles cases, bringing the total to 607 so far this year.
In 2024, the U.S. saw a total of 285 reported cases.
CDC officials added that 97% of U.S. cases are unvaccinated or those whose vaccination status is unknown.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Kanishka Singh in Washington and Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann, Christopher Cushing and Chizu Nomiyama )
