An unvaccinated adult from New Mexico tests positive for measles after passing away.
The state health department of New Mexico announced Thursday that a deceased citizen had tested positive for measles, making it the second measles-related fatality in the country in over ten years.
According to New Mexico Department of Health Public Information Officer David Morgan, the unvaccinated adult patient was the first measles-related death in the state in over 40 years and did not seek medical attention prior to passing away.
Morgan stated that the state medical examiner is still looking into the cause of death.
The death raises the total number of measles cases to ten in Lea County, Texas, which is next to Gaines County. There have been over 100 cases there, along with one fatality in an unprotected child.
Longtime vaccination skeptic U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been put to the test by the outbreak, which is among the biggest the country has seen in a decade.
Kennedy originally played down the news that a school-aged child had died from measles during a cabinet meeting last week, referring to such outbreaks as “normal” and omitting to address the importance of vaccination in preventing measles.
Kennedy’s opinion article on Fox News over the weekend emphasized the importance of vaccinations while ignoring their impact by informing parents that vaccinations are a personal decision and advising them to speak with their doctor.
Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious diseases specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, added that he elevated the importance of vitamin A and exaggerated the evidence supporting its use, which has only been demonstrated to lessen the severity of measles in underdeveloped nations among malnourished and vitamin A-deficient people.
“It’s not clear to me that’s true in the developed world, where vitamin A malnutrition is uncommon,” he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of 164 measles cases as of February 27 from nine jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Rhode Island, and Texas.
According to Dr. Tina Tan, an infectious disease specialist at Northwestern University in Chicago, measles usually results in one to three fatalities for every 1,000 cases.
Two fatalities out of 164 instances, she said, indicate “a much higher mortality rate than we would normally see,” and she added that many cases are likely going unnoticed.
Six adults and four children under the age of 17 were among the cases in New Mexico. Three of these individuals had an unknown immunization history, while seven of these cases were unvaccinated.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, stated that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is keeping a close eye on the situation and communicating with state health officials. “CDC recommends vaccination as the best protection against measles infections,” the official stated.
According to the New Mexico Health Department, two community immunization clinics will take place on March 11.