A second child with measles has died in Texas, a local hospital spokesperson confirmed yesterday, as hundreds of cases of the infectious disease have been recorded in recent weeks.
The developments have prompted US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to visit the state, media outlets reported.
“We are deeply saddened to report that a school-aged child who was recently diagnosed with measles has passed away. The child was receiving treatment for complications of measles while hospitalised,” Aaron Davis, a spokesperson for UMC Health System in Lubbock, Texas, said in an email.
“It is important to note that the child was not vaccinated against measles and had no known underlying health conditions. This unfortunate event underscores the importance of vaccination,” the hospital spokesperson said. He did not give further details.
The New York Times reported that the latest victim was an eight-year-old girl, who died of ‘measles pulmonary failure’, making her the second confirmed US measles death in the past decade.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said that two people died and more than 500 roads were closed in the state due to deadly storms and floods, which have also killed over a dozen people in the past week in other states of the US South and Midwest.
“Kentucky, there is record flooding across our state, with more than 500 road closures. Rivers have not yet crested, so we still have a day – if not more – of rising waters. We’ve already lost two of our people,” Beshear said on social media platform X. One of the dead in Kentucky was a nine-year-old boy walking to his school bus stop on Friday morning when he was overtaken by flooding, police in the city of Frankfort said.
Beshear added many homes were evacuated and water supply was limited in the state capital Frankfort, where he said state offices will be closed today. A deadly spring storm spawned tornadoes and drenching thunderstorms in a swath of the US stretching from Texas to Ohio in the past week.
Tennessee had 10 deaths in this period. In addition to the two deaths announced in Kentucky, there were also two deaths in Missouri and one each in Arkansas, Indiana and Mississippi.
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