Second Death From Measles Reported in Unvaccinated Adult in New Mexico
By Stephanie Brown HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, March 7, 2025 -- Amid the current outbreak of measles centered in counties along the Texas/New Mexico border, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) is reporting the death of an unvaccinated adult who tested positive for measles. The decedent was a resident of Lea County, New Mexico.
This death marks the second fatality in the growing outbreak, coming on the heels of the death of an unvaccinated school-aged child who died on Feb. 26 in a hospital in Lubbock, Texas.
The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator is still looking into the official cause of death; however, the presence of the measles virus has been confirmed by the NMDOH Scientific Laboratory. The individual did not seek medical care before their death.
"We don't want to see New Mexicans getting sick or dying from measles," Chad Smelser, M.D., NMDOH deputy state epidemiologist, said in a news release. "The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is the best protection against this serious disease."
To support community protection, NMDOH has scheduled free measles vaccination clinics in Lea County on Tuesday, March 11.
As of March 6, the total number of cases in the measles outbreak in New Mexico is 30. All infections reported have been in residents of Lea County, with 11 children under the age of 17 years and 15 adults affected; the age of four cases is pending.
For the measles outbreak in Gaines County and the surrounding communities in the state of Texas, 198 individuals, including at least 153 children and 34 adults, have been infected as of March 7.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted March 2025
Read this next
FDA Approves Prefilled Syringe Presentation for Shingles Vaccine
MONDAY, July 21, 2025 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a prefilled syringe presentation of Shingrix (zoster vaccine recombinant, adjuvanted) for the...
Few Babies Getting RSV Antibody Shot, Beyfortus, Study Says
THURSDAY, July 17, 2025 — A new antibody shot that protects babies against RSV infection could be struggling to gain traction, researchers report. Only about a third (35%)...
WHO, UNICEF Say More Than 14 Million Infants Worldwide Remain Unvaccinated
WEDNESDAY, July 16, 2025 -- Data released this week by the World Health Organization and UNICEF indicate modest gains in childhood vaccination rates, but globally, more than 14...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.