Measles Outbreak Spreads Across States After Tragic Child's Death: A Preventable Crisis?

New measles cases are popping up in multiple states following the heartbreaking death of a child in West Texas. This is happening amid an ongoing outbreak that really makes you wonder what's going on with public health these days. The pediatric patient, from Gaines County, passed away in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, according to health officials. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported that the child, of school age, was unvaccinated. Details regarding the child's identity and gender have not been released. Since late January, a total of 124 measles cases have been confirmed in the West Texas outbreak alone (as of Feb. 25). The DSHS also noted that the majority of those infected are children, and 18 individuals have required hospitalization. Other states are also seeing cases. The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) has reported an outbreak of the highly contagious virus in Lea County, which is near Gaines County, Texas. As of Feb. 25, nine cases have been confirmed in the county, with four cases among those aged 5-17 and five in adults. New Jersey isn't immune either. The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) has reported a total of three measles cases. The first case, reported on Feb. 14, involved an unvaccinated individual who had recently traveled internationally and visited the emergency department at Englewood Hospital in Bergen County on Feb. 9. "The two secondary cases of measles that have been identified were individuals with close contact to the original measles case," the NJDOH told Fox News Digital. "The individuals have been under quarantine, minimizing any additional potential exposures. All three individuals were unvaccinated." Fox News' senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel weighed in on the first measles death, pointing to vaccination non-compliance as a major factor in the spread of the disease through Texas and into New Mexico. He suggested that high exemption rates for childhood vaccines, now under 85% compliance, are largely to blame. It's mostly unvaccinated, school-aged children who are getting sick. "Keep in mind that for herd immunity (where those who cannot be vaccinated because they are pregnant or immunocompromised and can't take a live vaccine are protected), we need a vaccination rate of around 95%," he told Fox News Digital. "In Texas, it is currently at 91%, and more bills for further exemptions are before the state legislature." Dr. Siegel stressed that measles is "wildly contagious among unvaccinated individuals" and that the hospitalization rate is one in five, according to CDC data. Pneumonia can occur in one out of every 20 measles cases, which could explain the recent death. "Of the 124 patients so far, there are 18 hospitalizations, probably most from pneumonia," he shared. "There are likely hundreds more cases that are not being reported."