Highly contagious and life-threatening Second child dies after measles outbreak in the USA
Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases and can be life-threatening in extreme cases. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
In earlier years, the current Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. often cast doubt on the benefits of vaccinations.
Image: dpa
The USA is currently struggling with a measles outbreak - especially the state of Texas. (archive image)
Image: dpa
Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases and can be life-threatening in extreme cases. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
In earlier years, the current Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. often cast doubt on the benefits of vaccinations.
Image: dpa
The USA is currently struggling with a measles outbreak - especially the state of Texas. (archive image)
Image: dpa
The United States is struggling with a cluster of measles cases. The state of Texas is particularly affected. This has also put Health Minister Kennedy on the spot.
07.04.2025, 06:13
07.04.2025, 06:16
dpa
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- Another child has died in the USA following a measles infection.
- The health authority in Texas announced that the schoolchild, who tested positive for measles, had been admitted to a hospital in Lubbock and died on Thursday of respiratory failure as a result of the infection.
- The child had not been vaccinated and had no known previous illnesses.
- The United States is currently struggling with a cluster of measles cases.
In the USA, another child has died following a measles infection. The health authorities in the state of Texas announced that the schoolchild, who had tested positive for measles, had been admitted to a hospital in Lubbock and died on Thursday of respiratory failure as a result of the infection. The child had not been vaccinated and had no known previous illnesses.
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traveled to the affected district to meet the family, as he wrote on the X platform. A child there had already died of a measles infection in February. According to local media, it was the first measles-related death in the USA in ten years.
The United States is currently struggling with an increase in measles cases. Kennedy wrote on X that 642 cases have been reported so far in 22 states - 499 of them in Texas. Most of those affected there are children, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Kennedy promised the Texas authorities help in combating the measles epidemic and warned that the most effective way to prevent the spread of the disease was vaccination.
Health minister and anti-vaccination campaigner
In earlier years, Kennedy had often cast doubt on the usefulness of vaccinations. This was one of the reasons why there was considerable criticism of his appointment as Secretary of Health.
When asked by reporters whether he was concerned about the measles situation, US President Donald Trump replied that it was still a relatively small number of cases. However, if the problem increases, "we will have to take very strong action".
Contagious and dangerous
Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases and can be life-threatening in extreme cases. It is transmitted via droplets and aerosols that are emitted when speaking, coughing and sneezing, for example. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), an infection usually begins with fever, conjunctivitis, a runny nose, cough and headache and white to blue-white spots on the oral mucosa.
A few days later, the fever rises and the rash with brownish-pink spots typical of measles develops. The disease can lead to inflammation of the lungs and brain and can have fatal consequences.