Texas child is first death in measles outbreak in the state

A school-aged child in Texas is the first reported individual to die from measles amid an outbreak in the South Plains and Panhandle regions of the state, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced today. The child was not vaccinated against the disease and was hospitalized last week. As of yesterday, there have been 124 confirmed measles cases in the outbreak since late January, the department said. The majority of cases have been in children. 
 
As of Feb. 21, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention received reports of measles cases from Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Rhode Island and Texas. The vaccination status of 95% of the reported cases are unvaccinated or unknown.