Measles outbreak in US spreads to over 600 confirmed cases

A hospital in Lubbock, a western city in Texas, said on the 6th that a child in the state was diagnosed with measles. This is the third measles death reported in the United States this year. The University Medical Center in Lubbock issued a statement on the 6th saying that the child had no underlying health problems and was “being treated for complications of measles during hospitalization.” This death highlights the importance of vaccination. According to the New York Times, the deceased was an 8-year-old girl who died of lung failure caused by measles on the 3rd of this month. In February this year, the Texas Department of Health Services issued a bulletin saying that a child in the state was diagnosed with measles. In March, New Mexico reported a measles death. According to multiple US media reports, none of the three deceased had received the measles vaccine before their death. Texas public health officials said in March that measles epidemics spread fastest in areas with lower-than-average vaccination rates and may last for months to a year. According to the latest data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 4th of this month, 21 states in the United States have reported 607 confirmed cases of measles so far this year, more than twice the number of last year, including nearly 500 cases in Texas. 97% of patients have not received measles vaccination or their vaccination status is unknown. Some public health experts in the United States are concerned that the Trump administration’s recent withdrawal of large-scale funding for local health departments and the cancellation of many measures to protect international public health have increased the risk of large-scale spread of the epidemic.