State officials yesterday reported what may be New Mexico’s first measles-related death of this year.
A resident of Lea County tested positive for the disease this week, after their death.
New Mexico Department of Health officials released the news yesterday afternoon.
They say the deceased person, who was not yet identified, was not vaccinated.
The official cause of death is still under investigation by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator.
According to a Department of Health press release, the individual did not seek medical care before dying.
It’s the tenth confirmed case of measles in the state this year, all of them in Lea County, which borders Gaines County in Texas, where there have been more than 150 reported cases and one death this year.
Officials do not believe there’s any link between the cases in the two states’ bordering counties.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness that can cause severe complications.
Twenty percent of cases require hospitalization, and about three in every 1000 cases results in death.
Measles was declared “eliminated” in the U.S. about 25 years ago.
Andrea Romero, immunization program manager for the Department of Health, told KSFR this week that the return of measles could relate to the spread of non-science opinions on social media playing a role.
“ Vaccines in general. There's, there's a lot of misinformation out there," Romero said.
But it's really up to folks to do their research and look at what the actual facts are and how vaccines have worked throughout the past years where a lot of these diseases went away.“
Romero said that there have been 1500 doses of the vaccine administered in the past month in Lea County, since recent measles cases were discovered.
Ninety-five percent of New Mexico children currently in kindergarten are vaccinated, according to Romero.
She recommends that adults who received childhood inoculations should check with health providers to see if they should get a second dose.
New Mexicans with questions about measles and other health issues are urged to call the Southwest Nurse Hotline any time at 833-796-8773.
The Department of Health has scheduled free measles vaccination clinics to be held in coming days in Lea County.
