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West Texas measles outbreak produces first US measles death in a decade
Beginning in late January 2025, a measles outbreak centered on Gaines County in West Texas - an area with a large under-vaccinated Mennonite community where kindergarten MMR coverage was about 82%, below the roughly 95% needed for herd immunity - spread to neighboring counties and states. In late February 2025 an unvaccinated 6-year-old child died, described in reporting as the first US measles death in a decade; a second unvaccinated child, age 8, died in early April. Texas health officials declared the outbreak over in August 2025 after 762 confirmed cases, 99 hospitalizations and two child deaths, making it the largest US outbreak in years. Public-health experts linked the scale of the outbreak to under-vaccination.
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Beginning in late January 2025, a measles outbreak centered on Gaines County in West Texas - an area with a large under-vaccinated Mennonite community where kindergarten MMR coverage was about 82%, below the roughly 95% needed for herd immunity - spread to neighboring counties and states. In late February 2025 an unvaccinated 6-year-old child died, described in reporting as the first US measles death in a decade; a second unvaccinated child, age 8, died in early April. Texas health officials declared the outbreak over in August 2025 after 762 confirmed cases, 99 hospitalizations and two child deaths, making it the largest US outbreak in years. Public-health experts linked the scale of the outbreak to under-vaccination.
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