Measles Outbreak in West Texas Claims First Life

By Devi Shastri, Associated Press

"First measles death reported in West Texas outbreak" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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LUBBOCK — A person who was hospitalized with measles has died from measles in West Texas, the first death in an outbreak that began late last month.

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center spokesperson Melissa Whitfield confirmed the death Wednesday. It wasn’t clear the age of the patient, who died overnight.

Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 124 cases across nine counties, the state health department said Tuesday. There are also nine cases in eastern New Mexico.

Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most kids will recover from the measles if they get it, but infection can lead to dangerous complications like pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.

The outbreak is largely spreading in the Mennonite community in an area where small towns are separated by vast stretches of oil rig-dotted open land but connected due to people traveling between towns for work, church, grocery shopping and other day-to-day errands.

Disclosure: Texas Tech University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/02/26/texas-measles-death/.

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