US Texas confirms first death in measles outbreak

LOS ANGELES -- The US state of Texas on Wednesday reported the first death from the ongoing measles outbreak.

The case was a school-aged child who was not vaccinated. The person was hospitalized in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS).

As of Feb 25, 124 cases of measles had been confirmed in the outbreak in the South Plains region of Texas since late January. Most of the cases are in children.

Eighteen people had been hospitalized. Five of the cases were vaccinated. The rest were unvaccinated, or their vaccination status was unknown, according to TDSHS.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness, which can cause life-threatening illness to anyone who is not protected against the virus.

Measles can be transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. People who are infected will begin to have symptoms within a week or two after being exposed.

The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella or MMR vaccine, according to TDSHS.

Two doses of the MMR vaccine prevent more than 97 percent of measles infections.