Health

(WASHINGTON) — In his first public comments on the measles outbreak hitting West Texas and New Mexico, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic whose first steps in combatting the outbreak will be closely watched, said his department was monitoring the situation daily but called it “not unusual.”

“Incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year in this country. Last year there were 16. So, it’s not unusual, we have measles outbreaks every year,” Kennedy said Wednesday at the White House.

However, some public health experts were quick to point out that the outbreak in Texas has defied America’s recent history with highly contagious disease.

Prior to this outbreak, the U.S. had not seen a death from measles since 2015. And in 2000, years after the U.S. implemented a two-dose vaccine schedule, measles was declared eliminated from the U.S., meaning that the disease had stopped spreading within the country.

Only in recent years have cases and outbreaks been rising, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak in West Texas and New Mexico is already drawing close to the halfway mark of total cases seen nationally last year, when there were at least 285 cases of measles – which were also the highest numbers since 2019, according to the CDC’s latest figures.

And while there were 16 outbreaks last year, that was a four-time increase from the number of outbreaks in 2023, when there were just four outbreaks. The U.S. has nearly hit that 2023 number already, just two months into 2025.

Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, called Kennedy’s comments about measles cases happening “every year” an attempt to normalize an outbreak that has been anything but normal.

“First of all, we eliminated measles from this country by the year 2000. The reason measles have come back is because a critical percentage of parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children, because they’ve gotten misinformation and disinformation from people like him and his Children’s Health Defense,” Offit told ABC News.

Children’s Health Defense, a group founded by Kennedy, advocates against the recommended vaccine schedule for children.

“It’s unconscionable enough that he’s done that, but that he sort of glibly says, well, measles outbreaks occur every year — the point is they don’t have to occur at all, because we’ve shown we could eliminate this disease,” Offit said.

ABC News has reached out to HHS about RFK Jr.’s comments.

The increase in cases and outbreaks over the last few years coincides with decreasing vaccination coverage for measles among kindergarteners nationally from 95.2% during the 2019-2020 school year to 92.7% in the 2023-2024 school year – leaving about 280,000 kindergartners at risk, according to the CDC.

Kennedy, prior to taking his role as HHS secretary, said the measles vaccine is effective at preventing measles, but has also suggested that it’s not necessary because people who die from measles are typically malnourished or have other comorbidities.

“The measles vaccine definitely eliminates measles, or, you know, close to eliminates it,” Kennedy said in 2022.

But he went on to question the deadliness of the disease.

“In 1963, it was killing only 400 kids a year. Mainly, they were kids who had malnutrition, or had some other devastating co-morbidity,” Kennedy said. “Those were the kids who were dying.”

Kennedy has also questioned that the deaths of 83 people – mostly young children – in Samoa in 2019 were caused by measles, despite widespread evidence that the deaths were due to an outbreak of the disease caused by under-vaccination in the American territory.

“Nobody died in Samoa from measles. They were dying from a bad vaccine,” Kennedy told an interviewer last year.

20% of kids with measles in the U.S. require hospitalization, said Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, often for measles pneumonia, measles diarrhea, measles encephalitis or deafness from measles otitis, an ear infection — many of which can be life-threatening conditions.

“This is a bad, bad actor. And I’m really concerned that this thing is continuing to accelerate and expand,” Hotez said Wednesday night in an interview on MSNBC.

Doctors in West Texas have described shock and feaver-treating a disease they thought was something of the past.

“This is the first time I’ve had any professional experience with a measles outbreak,” Dr. Lara Johnson, pediatrician and Chief Medical Officer at Covenant Children’s and Covenant Health in Lubbock, who is currently treating measles patients from the outbreak in West Texas, told ABC news.

“I saw one travel-related case when I was in medical school, very briefly, but at that time, back in around 2000, we really thought that we’d eradicated measles from the United States and didn’t have any anticipation of seeing any outbreaks here,” she said.

The outbreak in Texas is a prime example of the risk posed to unvaccinated communities. Vaccine exemptions among children in Gaines County, the epicenter of the outbreak, have grown dramatically in the past few years. Roughly 7.5% of kindergarteners had filed an exemption for at least one vaccine in 2013. 10 years later, that number rose to over 17.5% – one of the highest in all of Texas, state health data shows.

As the response to the outbreak in Texas and New Mexico continues, with cases expected to significantly rise, public health experts like Hotez and Offit say they’re watching Kennedy, as leader of the nation’s health department, to encourage swift surveillance and widespread vaccination.

“I want him to say to the American public that there’s a safe way to prevent these outbreaks from happening so that we don’t have the tragedy like what just happened in West Texas,” Offit said. “There’s so much in medicine you don’t know. There’s so much we can’t do. This we know. This we can do.”

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(NEW YORK) — Before there was a vaccine in 1963, measles infected millions and killed hundreds of people in the U.S. every year. Now, with the first measles death occurring in over a decade, doctors warn that declining vaccination rates are bringing the disease back, putting more people — especially children — at risk.

Here are five things to know about measles.

What is measles?

Measles is a highly contagious virus that can cause serious illness. One in nine people who are exposed to the measles virus will become infected if they don’t have immunity through previous infection or vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Symptoms often begin one to two weeks after exposure. Early symptoms can look like other common respiratory illnesses starting with a high fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and white spots in the mouth.

Dr. Ari Brown, a pediatrician in Austin, Texas, who treated measles decades ago, warns measles “doesn’t look like measles initially, and so that’s what’s so scary … this could look like flu.”

A distinct red rash typically appears three to five days later, usually starting on the face and spreading down the body.

What is the earliest my child can get vaccinated?

The CDC recommends all children receive two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine, with the first dose given between 12-15 months and the second dose when they reach 4-6 years old.

In some circumstances, children as young as 6 months old may receive the vaccine, and a second dose can be given as soon as 28 days after the first, according to the CDC.

Dr. Lara Johnson, a pediatrician and the chief medical officer at Covenant Children’s and Covenant Health in Lubbock, Texas, said people worried about their vaccination status should talk to their doctor.

“One of the messages that’s really important in the context of this outbreak is, if you’re behind on your vaccinations, now’s a great time to get caught up,” Johnson told ABC News.

Can you get measles if you are fully vaccinated?
One dose of the MMR vaccine is 93% effective against measles and two doses are 97% effective, according to the CDC.

That means that 3 out of 100 vaccinated people may get sick if exposed to the virus, but these infections are usually less severe than in unvaccinated people who get sick, according to the CDC.

Most people who were vaccinated as children won’t need any additional measles vaccines. But adults who only had one measles vaccination or people who were vaccinated in the 1960s may be candidates for an additional vaccination.

Anyone unsure of their vaccination status should have a discussion with their doctor. There’s no harm in getting an additional dose of the MMR vaccine. According to the CDC, people born before 1957 are immune to the virus because almost everyone at the time was infected with measles, mumps and rubella during their childhood.

Anyone living in a high-risk area should speak to their doctor about whether they need a booster, according to the CDC.

What can pregnant women do to stay safe?

Measles in pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of miscarriage, low birth weight and preterm birth, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. However, women should not receive the MMR vaccine while they are pregnant because it is a live vaccine.

If a pregnant person is exposed to measles, they should talk to their doctor as soon as possible — within six days — to know if they should receive a post-exposure prophylaxis with measles immunoglobulin (an injection of antibodies that can help reduce the severity of illness for high-risk people), according to the CDC.

Can measles kill you?

Measles can cause complications like pneumonia, brain swelling, long-term hearing loss and death — as is the case in the current Texas outbreak.

In the decade before the measles vaccine, the CDC estimates 3 to 4 million people were infected and 400 to 400 people died from the virus every year in the United States.

Other long-term complications include subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a rare but fatal complication that can develop seven to ten years after recovery. SSPE causes a gradual loss of mental abilities, which progresses to a vegetative state and eventually leads to death, according to the National Institutes of Health.

There is no specific treatment for measles, so doctors say the best way to prevent complications of measles is to get vaccinated.

“The vaccine is so effective,” Dr. Summer Davies, a pediatrician currently treating hospitalized patients at Texas Tech University Health Science Center and Covenant Children’s, told ABC News.

Davies said the best way to protect yourself, your children and your community is to get the vaccine, even “if you’re not worried yourself about getting it.”

This is not just like any other virus, Davies said.

“Some people think, ‘Oh, this is just a virus like the flu. I’ll get it, maybe get a fever and rash and get over it,’” Davies said. “But it can be really severe, as we have seen here.”

Johnson said that measles is not just an issue from the past, but something that could progress in the future without proper vaccinations.

“[Measles] seems like something from the past,” Johnson said. “But if we don’t continue to vaccinate and do things that we did in order to make these illnesses of the past, then they’ll be illnesses of the present.”

-Dr. Amanda Hargett-Granato and Jade A Cobern contributed to this report. Hargett-Granato is a pediatric resident at Mayo Clinic and member of the ABC News Medical Unit. Cobern, MD, MPH, board-certified in pediatrics and general preventive medicine, is a medical fellow of the ABC News Medical Unit.

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(DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO) — At least 60 people have died and over 1,000 more have been sickened by a deadly “unknown disease” spreading in a region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization said.

Local health officials in Congo are partnering with the World Health Organization to investigate.

The phrase “unknown disease” primarily means that the disease has not yet been identified.

In previous cases, the cases are linked to a known disease, but a lack of available testing leads to lack of certainty.

For example, there was a separate report of an “unknown disease” in December of last year in Congo that was later attributed to illnesses from malaria and respiratory illnesses.

Local health officials have identified a surge of cases and deaths three times in different areas of the country in recent months.

A total of 1,096 sick people have been identified along with 60 deaths. Symptoms include fever, headache, chills, sweating, stiff neck, muscle aches, multiple joint pain and body aches, a runny or bleeding from nose, cough, vomiting and diarrhea.

Initial lab tests have been negative for Ebola and Marburg. Around half of samples tested have been positive for malaria, which is common in the area. Tests continue to be carried out for meningitis. Officials are also looking into food and water contamination.

Early investigations traced the outbreak’s origin to three kids, all under 5 years old, who developed symptoms after eating a bat carcass.

Symptoms included fever, headache, diarrhea and fatigue – which later progressed to signs associated with hemorrhagic fevers and death.

“The remote location and weak healthcare infrastructure increase the risk of further spread,” the WHO notes in its report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Some major medical associations are pushing back against the Department of Health and Human Services’ updated definitions of biological sex in federal policy in the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order.

HHS issued new guidance on Feb. 19 where it said it “recognizes there are only two sexes: male and female,” adding: “HHS will use these definitions and promote policies acknowledging that women are biologically female and men are biologically male.”

“There is extensive scientific research that supports the complexity of sex and gender beyond binary classifications,” American Psychological Association CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., Ph.D., told ABC News in a statement. “The new restrictive definition of sex ignores decades of science, increasing harm to youth and families, while undermining critical mental health outcomes.”

The new HHS guidance for the federal government defines “sex” as “a person’s immutable biological classification as either male or female.” It further defines “female” as “a person of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing eggs (ova)” and “male” as “a person of the sex characterized by a reproductive system with the biological function of producing sperm.” It additionally defines the definition of a “woman” as “an adult human female” and a “man” as “an adult human male.”

The updated HHS guidance also includes definitions for “father” as describing a “male parent” and “mother” as describing a “female parent.”

The HHS guidance doesn’t mention intersex individuals — people born with sex characteristics that don’t fit typical definitions of male or female. The National Institutes of Health estimates that about .018% of the population is considered intersex.

The federal government previously defined “sex” in broader terms.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one of HHS’ agencies, defines sex as “an individual’s biological status as male, female, or something else. Sex is assigned at birth and associated with physical attributes, such as anatomy and chromosomes.”

The CDC’s website defines gender as “the cultural roles, behaviors, activities and attributes expected of people based on their sex.”

After Trump took office, the administration ordered the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration to remove certain public health websites, including the CDC’s page with more gender-inclusive definitions, which were then taken offline. A judge granted a temporary restraining order to restore the pages after organizations filed lawsuits.

A banner at the top of the CDC page currently states: “Per a court order, HHS is required to restore this website as of 11:59PM ET, February 14, 2025. Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female.”

The HHS did not include its own definition of gender in its updated guidance posted Feb. 19.

The second Trump administration has issued a number of executive orders targeting the transgender population, and a number of lawsuits have been filed to challenge them.

Human biology is complex, and not all individuals fit neatly into binary categories, Evans told ABC News. 

“We cannot just ignore the biological science that some people are born with a difference of sex development (DSD),” Evans said in his statement. “DSD are congenital conditions where the development of anatomical, chromosomal or gonadal sex is atypical. It is important that we support access to psychological and medical interventions for such individuals who do not fall into the male or female category, putting them at a higher risk of depression and anxiety.”

Evans also said the new HHS definitions excluded the concept of gender identity.

“It is crucial to recognize the psychological science on the validity of gender identity, as it allows for a more accurate understanding of individual experiences beyond the binary framework of biological sex,” he said. “Research consistently shows that affirming both sex and gender identity is vital for promoting mental health and well-being.”

In its updated guidance, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the Trump administration “is bringing back common sense and restoring biological truth to the federal government. The prior administration’s policy of trying to engineer gender ideology into every aspect of public life is over.”

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in a statement that it will not change its current definitions of sex and gender, and will use inclusive language “to recognize and affirm all people who seek and receive care from obstetrician-gynecologists.”

The ACOG also called on researchers to diversify studies by including gender-expansive participants and to report study participant characteristics inclusively by using language beyond traditional binary descriptors.

The American Academy of Family Physicians noted its long-standing policy on care for transgender and nonbinary patients, saying in a statement that it will continue to recognize that “diversity in gender identity and expression is a normal part of human existence and does not represent pathology.” It further asserted that “medical decisions are best made by patients, their families and their physicians, supported by medical evidence.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics said it will comply with all applicable executive orders as the law requires. “The AAP continues to hold that medical decisions are best made by patients, their families and their physicians, supported by medical evidence,” the organization said in a statement.

The American Medical Association’s policy on the Medical Spectrum of Gender, first enacted in 2018, appears to remain unchanged. It “affirms that an individual’s genotypic sex, phenotypic sex, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity are not always aligned or indicative of the other, and that gender for many individuals may differ from the sex assigned at birth,” according to the policy.

HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told ABC News the department has no comment.

ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday, a day after HHS updated its guidance, that Trump “reestablished the scientific and biological truth that there are only two sexes in this country — male and female — that those are biologically based determinations.  They are not based and can never be based on gender identity.”

Dr. Allia Vaez is a family medicine resident at Southern Regional AHEC and a member of the ABC News Medical Unit. 

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(NEW YORK) — More measles cases are being confirmed across the United States as health officials work to treat patients in an ongoing outbreak in Texas.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) and the Franklin County Health Department announced on Wednesday a confirmed case of measles in an adult resident, the first in the state in two years.

The departments said the resident recently traveled internationally to an area where measles is spreading.

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, health officials confirmed two new measles cases in Bergen County linked to a patient whose case was confirmed earlier this month.

Officials haven’t found any links between the cases in Kentucky and New Jersey, and there’s no evidence the cases in Kentucky or New Jersey are connected to the outbreak in Texas, which has so far sickened 124 people and led to one death in an unvaccinated school-aged child.

Kentucky health officials are now attempting to contact anyone the infected resident may have come into contact with. The resident attended a Planet Fitness in Frankfort on Feb. 17 while contagious, officials said.

“Measles is one of the most contagious viruses in the world,” KDPH Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said in a statement. “Fortunately, measles can be prevented with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is safe and effective. Vaccines are an essential tool to keep children and adults safe and healthy.”

An official briefed on the situation told ABC News on Thursday that the new cases in New Jersey are members of the same family and were not vaccinated. Because they are in the same family, public health officials are hopeful public spread will have been limited.

The original case tested positive after traveling internationally. The New Jersey Department of Health said people may have been exposed to measles if they visited Englewood Hospital’s Emergency Department on Feb. 5.

Health officials said people who were exposed could develop symptoms until as late as March 6.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles to up to nine out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Health officials have been urging anyone who isn’t vaccinated to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.

The CDC currently recommends that people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster.

Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000 due to the highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. However, CDC data shows vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years.

ABC News’ Matt Foster contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Longer periods of extreme heat has been found to accelerate biological age in older adults by up to two years, according to new research.

More heat days over time correlated with deterioration at the molecular and cellular level in adults 56 years or older, likely because the biological deterioration accumulates over time and eventually leads to disease and disability, Eunyoung Choi, a postdoctoral associate at the University of California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, told ABC News.

Researchers at the University of Southern California studied blood samples from 3,686 adults starting at an average chronological age of 68 years with varying socioeconomic backgrounds across the U.S. and compared epigenetic aging trends to the number of extreme heat days in the participants’ places of residence, according to a study published Wednesday in Science Advances.

“Epigenetic age is one way we measure biological aging, which tells us how well our body is functioning at the physical, molecular and the cellular levels,” Choi said. “…We know that some people seem to age faster than others, and that’s because biological aging doesn’t always match chronological age.”

Regression modeling showed that more heat days, or longer-term heat, over one and six years increased biological age by 2.48 years. Short and mid-term heat also increased biological age by 1.07 years, according to the paper.

Extreme heat was defined as the daily maximum heat index — derived from both temperature and humidity — with a “caution” range of between 80 degrees to 90 degrees Fahrenheit and an “extreme caution” range of between 90 degrees and 103 degrees Fahrenheit, in accordance with the National Weather Service, according to the paper. “Extreme danger” was defined as any heat index level over 124 degrees Fahrenheit.

The researchers compared the epigenetic age of participants from regions with long periods of extreme heat to those living in cooler climates. There was a 14-month difference in epigenetic age between residents living in places like Phoenix, Arizona, than milder places like Seattle, even after accounting other individual and community-level differences, like income, education, physical activity and smoking, Choi said.

“Two people that had identical sociodemographic characteristics and similar lifestyles, just because one is living in a hotter environment, they experience additional biological aging,” she said.

The 14-month differences is comparable to effects seen with smoking and heavy alcohol consumption — two well-established risk factors of accelerated biological aging, the researchers found.

DNA methylation — the process of chemical modification to DNA that tends to change as people age — is “highly responsive” to environmental exposures like social stress, pollution and, in this case, extreme heat, Choi said.

Previous research has linked extreme heat to serious health risks like cardiovascular disease, kidney dysfunction, hospitalization and even death, Choi said. But prior to this research, scientists did not fully understand what is occurring at the biological level before those health issues appear, Choi added.

“The physical toll of the heat might not show up right away as a diagnosable health condition, but it could be taking a silent toll at the cellular and the molecular level,” Choi said.

It’s important to uncover potential hidden effects of heat on the body because it can serve as an “important precursor” before they turn into more serious health conditions, Choi said.

“We can intervene at the earlier stage,” she added.

Humidity also plays a big role in how the body responds to heat, especially for older adults, Choi said.

“As we age, our bodies don’t cool down as rapidly,” she said.

The new research provides a foundation for the development of targeted public health interventions, the researchers said.

“This provides strong evidence critical for guiding public policy and advocacy initiatives aimed at developing mitigation strategies against climate change,” Choi said.

ABC News Medical Unit’s Dr. Jessica Yang contributed to this report.

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(LUBBOCK, Texas) — An unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died of measles, the first associated with an outbreak in the western part of the state that has infected more than 100 people.

Lubbock city spokesperson Lauren Adams confirmed the death to ABC News on Wednesday.

In a press release, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said the child was hospitalized in the northwestern city of Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles.

As of Wednesday, 124 cases of measles have been confirmed associated with the outbreak, according to data from DSHS.

Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, and 18 people have been hospitalized so far, DSHS said.

Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases with 62, followed by 39 cases among children ages 4 and under.

The outbreak began in Gaines County, which has become the epicenter, with 80 cases confirmed among residents, according to DSHS.

The outbreak has since spread to several counties in the region and is “suspected” to have spread into New Mexico, according to New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH). Nine cases have been confirmed in Lea County, which borders Texas. Of the nine cases, four are among children, according to NMDOH.

“This death underscores the real danger of measles — it’s a severe disease that can take lives despite being preventable with vaccination,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and ABC News contributor. “Every new case is a reminder of why vaccination is critical. Tragically, with an outbreak of this scale, a fatal case was not unexpected, especially among those unvaccinated. Given how contagious measles is, we anticipate more cases in the coming weeks.”

During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Health and & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded to a question about the outbreak, saying the agency was following the cases in Texas.

Kennedy appeared to downplay the outbreak, noting there have been four outbreaks so far this year compared to 16 last year. However, the number of cases in Texas alone amount to nearly half of the 285 cases confirmed in 2024.

“It’s not unusual; we have measles outbreaks every year,” he said.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles up to nine out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Health officials have been urging anyone who isn’t vaccinated to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.

The CDC currently recommends people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster.

Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, due to the highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. However, vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years.

About 93% of kindergarteners nationwide received select routine childhood vaccines, including the MMR vaccine, for the 2022-23 school year, according to a November 2023 CDC report.

This is about the same as the previous school year, but lower than the 94% seen in the 2020-22021 school year and the 95% seen in the 2019-2020 school year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter percentage had been the standard for about 10 years.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

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(LUBBOCK, Texas) — An unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died of measles, the first associated with an outbreak in the western part of the state that has infected more than 100 people.

Lubbock city spokesperson Lauren Adams confirmed the death to ABC News on Wednesday.

In a press release, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said the child was hospitalized in the northwestern city of Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles.

As of Wednesday, 124 cases of measles have been confirmed associated with the outbreak, according to data from DSHS.

Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, and 18 people have been hospitalized so far, DSHS said.

Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases with 62, followed by 39 cases among children ages 4 and under.

The outbreak began in Gaines County, which has become the epicenter, with 80 cases confirmed among residents, according to DSHS.

The outbreak has since spread to several counties in the region and is “suspected” to have spread into New Mexico, according to New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH). Nine cases have been confirmed in Lea County, which borders Texas. Of the nine cases, four are among children, according to NMDOH.

“This death underscores the real danger of measles — it’s a severe disease that can take lives despite being preventable with vaccination,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and ABC News contributor. “Every new case is a reminder of why vaccination is critical. Tragically, with an outbreak of this scale, a fatal case was not unexpected, especially among those unvaccinated. Given how contagious measles is, we anticipate more cases in the coming weeks.”

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known to humans. Just one infected patient can spread measles up to nine out of 10 susceptible close contacts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Health officials have been urging anyone who isn’t vaccinated to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine.

The CDC currently recommends people receive two vaccine doses, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective. Most vaccinated adults don’t need a booster.

Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, due to the highly effective vaccination program, according to the CDC. However, vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years.

About 93% of kindergarteners nationwide received select routine childhood vaccines, including the MMR vaccine, for the 2022-23 school year, according to a November 2023 CDC report.

This is about the same as the previous school year, but lower than the 94% seen in the 2020-22021 school year and the 95% seen in the 2019-2020 school year, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The latter percentage had been the standard for about 10 years.

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

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(LUBBOCK, Texas) — An unvaccinated school-aged child in Texas has died of measles, the first associated with an outbreak in the western part of the state that has infected more than 100 people.

Lubbock city spokesperson Lauren Adams confirmed the death to ABC News on Wednesday.

In a press release, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) said the child was hospitalized in Lubbock, located in northwestern Texas, last week and tested positive for measles.

As of Wednesday, 124 cases of measles have been confirmed, according to data from DSHS.

Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, and 18 people have been hospitalized so far, DSHS said.

Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases with 62, followed by 39 cases among children ages 4 and under.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO) — The World Health Organization has reported that there is a deadly “unknown disease” spreading in one region within the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Local health officials in Congo are partnering with the World Health Organization to investigate.

The phrase “unknown disease” primarily means that the disease has not yet been identified.

In previous cases, the cases are linked to a known disease, but a lack of available testing leads to lack of certainty.

For example, there was a separate report of an “unknown disease” in December of last year in Congo that was later attributed to illnesses from malaria and respiratory illnesses.

The latest numbers from the WHO’s Africa Region show that there are 431 cases linked to the outbreak and 53 deaths since January.

Early investigations traced the outbreak’s origin to three kids, all under 5 years old, who developed symptoms after eating a bat carcass.

Symptoms included fever, headache, diarrhea and fatigue – which later progressed to signs associated with hemorrhagic fevers and death.

Ebola and Marburg have already been ruled out, officials say. Nearly half of deaths occurred within 48 hours after symptoms start.

“The remote location and weak healthcare infrastructure increase the risk of further spread,” the WHO notes in its report.

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