Los Angeles, Feb 27 : The US state of Texas has reported the first death from the ongoing measles outbreak.

The case was a school-aged child who was not vaccinated, Xinhua news agency reported.

The person was hospitalised in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS).

As of February 25, 124 cases of measles had been confirmed in the outbreak in the South Plains region of Texas since late January. Most of the cases are in children.

Eighteen people had been hospitalised. Five of the cases were vaccinated. The rest were unvaccinated, or their vaccination status was unknown, according to TDSHS.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness, which can cause life-threatening illness to anyone who is not protected against the virus.

During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a vaccine critic who was confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services earlier this month, said two people had died in the Texas outbreak. He did not provide details, and health authorities in Texas and New Mexico have confirmed only one death, in Texas.

However, the number of cases in Texas alone amounts to nearly half of the 285 cases confirmed in 2024.

An additional nine cases were announced on Tuesday in eastern New Mexico, near the Texas state line where the outbreak has spread to about 10 counties, Texas health officials said.

Measles can be transmitted by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. People who are infected will begin to have symptoms within a week or two after being exposed.

The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunised with two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella or MMR vaccine, according to TDSHS.

Two doses of the MMR vaccine prevent more than 97 per cent of measles infections.

/IANS