An unvaccinated resident of Lea County in New Mexico has tested positive for measles after dying, according to the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH), though an official cause of death is pending.
The update provided by NMDOH Thursday says laboratory testing confirmed the presence of the measles virus in the deceased individual. The person did not seek medical care before passing.
The latest case is the 10th known measles infection in Lea County, according to NMDOH. Of those, six are adults and four are children under the age of 17. Seven of the cases were unvaccinated while the remaining three have unknown vaccination histories.
The death could be the second attributed to the measles outbreak. Last month, an unvaccinated school-aged child died after testing positive for measles in Gaines County, Texas, which borders Lea County.
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), more than 150 cases of measles have been reported in nine counties in west Texas. As of March 3, 94% of the cases are in six counties: Dawson, Gaines, Lynn, Martin, Terry and Yoakum, while those counties account for less than 1% of the state’s total population.
The AAP and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend children receive the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine at age 12-15 months and again at 4-6 years. Children can receive the second dose earlier if it is at least 28 days after the first dose. Each dose of MMR lowers the risk of infection and severity of illness, if infected. Families should contact their pediatricians for more information about vaccination.
Valerie B. Smith, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, president of the Texas Pediatric Society (AAP Texas Chapter), said vaccination with an MMR vaccine remains the best, most effective way to protect children from the disease.
“We know that MMR vaccination is safe, effective and can help stop the spread of measles and save lives,” Dr. Smith said. “Pediatricians in Texas will continue to advocate for vaccination and provide access to the MMR vaccine as the most important way to keep children healthy and safe from measles.”
The measles virus is transmitted by contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. Measles virus can remain infectious in the air up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area.
Pediatricians have been addressing misinformation amid the ongoing outbreaks, including about vitamin A and the MMR vaccine itself.
While there is no specific antiviral treatment for measles, the World Health Organization recommends two doses of vitamin A be administered by a health care professional 24 hours apart for children and adults with measles. The supplement restores low vitamin A levels that can occur even in well-nourished children and can help prevent eye damage and blindness.
Many U.S. experts concur with administering vitamin A to all children in the United States with measles, regardless of hospitalization status, according to the AAP Red Book.
Clinicians, however, are working to debunk claims that vitamin A can prevent measles.
“Vitamin A is recommended for children diagnosed with measles to help prevent complications, particularly in children who are hospitalized,” said Sean T. O’Leary, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases (COID). “It should not be used to try to prevent measles, and high doses of vitamin A are potentially very harmful. The only effective way to prevent measles is the MMR vaccine.”
Larger, prolonged doses of vitamin A can cause nausea and vomiting, headache and fatigue, joint and bone pain, blurry vision and skin and hair problems. They also can lead to dangerously high pressures inside the skull that push on the brain, liver damage, confusion, coma and other problems.
Clinicians have also had to debunk claims that the outbreak of measles was caused by the MMR vaccine itself. According to CDC and DSHS, genotype testing has linked the outbreak to a genotype of measles virus called D8 that is circulating in Europe.
Illness onset (high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes) begins a week or two after someone is exposed. A few days later, a rash breaks out as flat, red spots on the face and then spreads down the neck and trunk to the rest of the body. A person is contagious about four days before the rash appears to four days after.
Other measles symptoms may include small spots in the cheek area inside the mouth, diarrhea and ear infection. Measles can lead to pneumonia, swelling of the brain, deafness, intellectual disability and death.
Most children who get measles are not up to date on recommended vaccines or are not old enough to get measles vaccine.
