Uncorned in New Mexico, dies of alleged measles
A non -vaccinated person who died in New Mexico has tested positively for measles, said state health officers on Thursday, possibly the second deaths in a growing outbreak that began in West texas.
The officials have not yet confirmed that measles were the cause of death and said that the person had not looked for medical treatment before dying.
The announcement was made a little more than a week after a child in Gaines County, Texas, had died of measles, the first such death in the USA for 10 years.
Ten cases of measles, six adults and four children were registered in Lea County, NM, that Gains County borders, the epicenter of the outbreak of West Texas.
This outbreak was a process of the new secretary for health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic. His ambiguous reaction has drawn hard criticism from scientists who claimed that he had offered muffled support for vaccination and emphasized undestected treatments for measles such as liver oil with cod.
Instead of largely luring the security and effectiveness of vaccines, as was the case in the past HHS secretaries, Mr. Kennedy said that vaccines help to protect against measles, but that the decision to “personally” vaccinated.
All cases in New Mexico have associated someone who has not been vaccinated or with an unknown vaccine status. While the cases in New Mexico were not officially associated with the outbreak into Texas, officials said that a link was “suspected”.
Until Tuesday, the measles outbreak in West texas had almost 160 people with 22 hospital stays.
New Mexico's health officers asked the residents to maintain measles, mumps and rubella in the vaccine, which experts say, the best way to protect against the disease. Two doses of the vaccine prevent more than 97 percent of measles infections.
“We don't want new Mexicans to get sick or die from measles,” said Dr. Chad Smaler, a state epidemiologist, in a press release.
The measles virus that spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes is extremely contagious. Each infected person can distribute the pathogen up to 18 others.
Within a week or two after exposure, those who are infected can develop a high fever, cough, running nose and red, aqueous eyes. Within a few days, a treacherous rash breaks out, first as a flat, red spots on the face and then the neck and upper body on the rest of the body.
In most cases, these symptoms dissolve in a few weeks. In rare cases, however, the virus causes pneumonia, which makes it difficult for patients, especially children, to bring oxygen into their lungs.
The infection can also lead to swelling of the brain, which can lead to permanent damage, including blindness, deafness and intellectual disabilities.
For all 1,000 children who receive measles, one or two of the centers for the control and prevention of diseases die.
The virus also weakens the immune system in the long term and makes its host more susceptible to future infections.
A study from 2015 showed that measles before the MMR vaccine was widespread, may have been responsible for up to half of all deaths of infectious diseases in children.
