A second child died of measles while an epidemic of very contagious virus continues to grow in western Texas.
The school-aged child was not vaccinated, had no underlying health problems and was in a hospital suffering from measles complications, Aaron Davis, vice-president of the UMC health system, said at the BBC.
The Secretary of Health, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who faced a reaction on his manipulation of the epidemic, went to Texas on Sunday following death.
The state reported more than 480 cases of measles this year on Friday, a leap of 420 earlier in the week. The epidemic extended to neighboring states.
“This unfortunate event highlights the importance of vaccination,” Davis said in a statement. “Measles is a very contagious disease that can cause serious complications, especially for those who are not vaccinated.”
The child – an eight -year -old girl – died early Thursday.
The BBC has contacted the State Department of Health and the United States Ministry of Health and Social Services for Comments. Friday, the two agencies did not list the death in their case.
In a statement, Kennedy confirmed the death of the girl.
“My intention was to descend here quietly to console families and be with the community in their sorrow,” he said in the press release.
He also said that he was committed to managers to “support Texas Health Managers and to find out how our HHS agencies can better associate with them to control the measles epidemic”. Kennedy said he was deploying a team – as he did in March – to help distribute vaccines, medicines and other supplies, among other support services.
“The most effective way to prevent the propagation of measles is the ROR vaccine,” wrote Kennedy.
In February, a six-year-old non-vaccinated girl in the local mennonite community was the first child to die of measles in the United States in a decade. In March, an unvaccinated man died in new-mexic after having contracted the virus, although his cause of death is still the subject of an investigation.
The United States has recorded more than 600 cases of measles this year, many of which were linked to the epidemic that started in western Texas. Cases in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas are probably linked to the original epidemic, according to public health experts.
Almost all cases are non -vaccinated people.
The virus – which can cause a fever, a red rash, a cough and other symptoms – is associated with a multitude of complications, including pneumonia, swelling of the brain and death.
The United States has declared measles eliminated from the country in 2000. But epidemics increased since then with an increase in anti-vaccine feeling.
Two vaccination plans – safely proven – are 97% effective to prevent virus and reduce serious infections. To reach the immunity of the herd – when enough group is safe from an illness, limit its spread and protect non -vaccinated – around 95% of the population must have the blows.
The epidemic is from a religious community which strongly rejects vaccines. Local health officials in western Texas told the BBC that they had found limited progress in attempts to improve vaccination rates.
Kennedy’s early response to the worsening of epidemics was silent, arousing criticism from health experts.
Kennedy, a skeptic of the vaccine, initially described the situation as “not unusual”. He changed his air after the deaths of the Pearl of the First Child, but stopped recommending that the parents will vaccine their children. Rather, he encouraged them to speak to their doctors suddenly.
On Sunday, Senator Bill Cassidy, a republican who represents Louisiana, called for stronger messages. Cassidy is also a doctor and has already criticized Kennedy for his skeptical attitude towards vaccination.
“Everyone should be vaccinated! There is no treatment for measles. No advantage in obtaining measles,” wrote Cassidy on the social media platform X. “Heights of health should say unequivocally b / 4 another child dies.”
Kennedy has also sometimes promoted vitamin A as a process of measles, which, according to doctors, should only be provided in some cases only under the direction of a doctor.
In Lubbock, the Covenant children’s hospital treated several children for the toxicity of vitamin A after being sent to the hospital for complications of measles.
