Texas surpassed 500 measles cases Tuesday, just days after a third person died from a measles-related illness.
The U.S. has more than double the number of measles cases it saw in all of 2024. Texas is reporting the majority of them with 505. The cases include two young elementary school-aged children who were not vaccinated and died from measles-related illnesses near the epicenter of the outbreak in rural Texas, which led Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to visit the community on Sunday.
Other states with active outbreaks — defined as three or more cases — include New Mexico, Kansas, Ohio and Oklahoma. The virus has been spreading in undervaccinated communities. The third person who died was an adult in New Mexico who was not vaccinated.