An unvaccinated New Mexico man who recently died was found to be infected with measles. His death could be the second in an ongoing outbreak that has sickened more than 160 people in at least nine states.
The official cause of death remains under investigation by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator, although its laboratories confirmed that the highly contagious respiratory virus was present in the Lea County man. He did not seek medical care before his death, and no additional information was released about his age or identity.
The man’s death comes a little over a week after Texas health officials announced that an unvaccinated school-age child died in Gaines County — the first measles-related death reported in America since 2015.
Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but declining vaccination rates have led to periodic outbreaks since then, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the wake of the Lea County death, New Mexico’s deputy state epidemiologist urged residents to get the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, vaccine, calling it “the best protection against this serious disease.”
Of the cases reported so far, 95% have been in unvaccinated people or people with an unknown vaccination status, according to the CDC.
Texas has borne the brunt of the outbreak with 159 cases and 22 hospitalizations reported as of Tuesday. New Mexico’s Lea County, just across Texas’ western border, had reported 10 cases as of Thursday.
Southern California has reported one case in an Orange County infant who landed at Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 19 after travel to Asia.
“Measles is a highly contagious virus that can cause severe illness such as pneumonia, brain swelling and even death, especially young kids who are not protected,” said Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, Orange County health officer. “In recent years, 25% of identified measles cases in the United States were hospitalized.”
Cases have also been reported in Alaska, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York City and Rhode Island, according to the CDC.
The outbreak has proved to be an early test for the newly confirmed secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted vaccine skeptic.
He drew criticism from some epidemiologists for not strongly urging all Americans to receive an MMR vaccine as soon as the outbreak began in mid-January.
In a Monday statement, Kennedy said that vaccines “not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons.”
He then said that “by 1960 — before the vaccine’s introduction — improvements in sanitation and nutrition had eliminated 98% of measles deaths.” He said that good nutrition remains “a best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses” and that the decision to get vaccinated is “a personal one.”