A second child with measles died in the US state of Texas, reported vehicles on Sunday. The death of the child occurred at a time when hundreds of cases of infectious disease were recorded in recent weeks, which led the US Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who says if opposite to vaccines, visiting the state
The last victim, an 8-year-old girl, died of “measles pulmonary insufficiency” in a hospital in Lubbock, Texas, becoming the second death confirmed by measles in the last decade, the New York Times said, citing health organs records.
The US Department of Human Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the child’s death or Kennedy’s trip. Local health authorities in Texas did not comment.
Kennedy’s trip was planned after he was informed of death, according to Axios. NBC News said Kennedy was planning to attend the Funeral of the Child, scheduled for this Sunday.
Kennedy, a longtime skeptic about vaccines, said in his immediate response to the first measles death in February that these outbreaks are common.
Pediatricians and other doctors who advocate vaccines warn parents that vitamin A and other dietary supplements do not protect against the highly contagious disease.
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On Friday, the Texas State Health Services Department reported 59 new measles in three days-a 15% increase that raises the total cases in the state to a total of 481 since late January.
Measles cases were also recorded in other US states, including New Mexico, Oklahoma and Colorado. Another child in Texas died of measles in February. An unpaid adult of New Mexico tested a positive measles after he died in March.
On Thursday, US Disease Control and Prevention Centers (CDC) reported a weekly increase of 124 measles across the country, raising the total to 607 so far this year. In 2024, the US registered a total of 285 cases.
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CDC employees added that 97% of cases in the US are unvaccinated people or whose vaccination status is unknown.
