Deceased New Mexico resident tests positive for measles

A deceased resident in New Mexico on Thursday tested positive for the measles, signaling a second potential death from the outbreak since it started in January.

The outbreak was previously confined to West Texas, which has so far reported a total of 159 cases. But that has now spread to New Mexico, where 10 cases of the disease have been reported in Lea County. 

One child has already died from the outbreak, marking the first measles related death in a decade, and 22 people have been hospitalized. 

The New Mexico Department of Health said that the official cause of death of the person who died in the state has yet to be determined but the person has tested positive for the virus. The person did not seek medical care prior to dying.

“We don’t want to see New Mexicans getting sick or dying from measles,” Dr. Chad Smelser, NMDOH's deputy state epidemiologist, said in a statement. “The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is the best protection against this serious disease.”

No additional information on the deceased individual was released, including their name, gender, or age. But the person was unvaccinated.

The new cases come a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deployed members of its Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) team to West Texas to investigate the outbreak. The team will work with local officials for 1-3 weeks.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.