The Department of Health of the American state of Texas has raised to 198 the infections due to the measles outbreak declared at the end of January, which has so far claimed the life of a child, in what is the first fatality in almost a decade due to this disease in the entire country.
The epicenter of the outbreak, Gaines County, remains the most affected area, with 137 confirmed cases so far in an outbreak that has already left 23 hospitalizations, according to the latest update published this past Friday.
More than half of the infections affect the population segment that ranges from children aged 5 to adolescents aged 17, with 89 confirmed cases. Among children aged 0 to 4, 64 infections have been confirmed. A total of 80 of the infections have occurred among unvaccinated patients. It is not known whether 113 other infected people were vaccinated.
There is also concern about the situation in the neighboring state of New Mexico, where 30 infections have been confirmed so far on Friday, a significant increase from the ten reported on Thursday. An adult who tested positive for measles has died in the state, but state authorities have not yet officially declared him dead as a result of the outbreak.
