'Wildly contagious’ virus has been reported primarily in unvaccinated people
New measles cases have been reported since the first death in West Texas amid the ongoing outbreak.
The pediatric patient, who lived in Gaines County, died in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, per a statement from health officials.
The child was reported to be "school-aged" and unvaccinated, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Identity and gender were not disclosed.
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A total of 124 cases of measles have been confirmed in the West Texas outbreak since late January (as of Feb. 25).
New measles cases have been reported since the first death in West Texas amid the ongoing outbreak. (iStock)
Most of the cases are in children and a total of 18 people have been hospitalized, the DSHS reported in a press release.
Cases of measles have also been reported in other states.
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The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) has reported an outbreak of the highly contagious virus in Lea County, near Gaines County, Texas.
A total of nine cases have been confirmed in the county as of Feb. 25, according to the NMDOH’s website.
Four of those are between 5 and 17 years of age and five are adults.
Most cases have involved patients who were not vaccinated, according to reports. (iStock)
The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) has also reported three total cases of measles.
The first was reported on Feb. 14 in an unvaccinated person, according to a press release.
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The infected person was said to have recently traveled internationally and visited the emergency department at Englewood Hospital in Bergen County on Feb. 9.
"The two secondary cases of measles that have been identified were individuals with close contact to the original measles case," the NJDOH told Fox News Digital. "The individuals have been under quarantine, minimizing any additional potential exposures. All three individuals were unvaccinated."
‘Wildly contagious’
Fox News' senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel weighed in on the first measles death on Wednesday, citing vaccination non-compliance as the likely reason that the disease is spreading through Texas and now into New Mexico.
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Siegel suggested that high exemption rates for childhood vaccines, which are now under 85% compliance, are to blame. The majority of cases have occurred in unvaccinated individuals, mostly school-aged children.
"Keep in mind that for herd immunity (where those who cannot be vaccinated because they are pregnant or immunocompromised and can't take a live vaccine are protected), we need a vaccination rate of around 95%," he told Fox News Digital.
"In Texas, it is currently at 91%, and more bills for further exemptions are before the state legislature."
The doctor stressed that measles is "wildly contagious among unvaccinated individuals" and that the hospitalization rate is one in five, according to CDC data.
As pneumonia can occur in one out of every 20 measles cases, Siegel said this could explain the recent measles death.