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.
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.
The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 124 cases across nine counties, the state health department said Tuesday.
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.
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.
