It can cause severe disease, complications, and even death.
Measles can affect anyone but is most common in children.
A community health worker prepares measles vaccine at Daadab refugee camp/UNICEFAt least two people have reportedly been killed following an outbreak of measles in Texas, United States.
According to the country’s Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, the two are the first mortalities from measles in the country in nearly a decade.
One of those victims, he said, was an unvaccinated child who died in a Texas hospital after testing positive for measles.
Kennedy, BBC said, did not however provide any information on the other victim.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported Tuesday that it was aware of 124 cases diagnosed since the outbreak began in early January, up from 90 cases on Friday.
Almost all of the cases - 101 - were in patients aged 17 and younger.
The US declared that measles had been "eliminated" in 2000, but the country has seen outbreaks in recent years amid a rise in anti-vaccine sentiment.
The last US measles death was in 2015, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
What is measles?
Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus.
It infects the respiratory tract and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.
It can cause severe disease, complications, and even death.
Measles can affect anyone but is most common in children.
Being vaccinated is the best way to prevent getting sick with measles or spreading it to other people.
The vaccine is safe and helps your body fight off the virus.
Symptoms
Symptoms usually begin 10–14 days after exposure to the virus and they include a running nose, cough, red and watery eyes and small white spots inside the cheeks.
A prominent rash is the most visible symptom and begins about 7–18 days after exposure, usually on the face and upper neck.
It spreads over about 3 days, eventually to the hands and feet.
It usually lasts 5–6 days before fading.
Most deaths from the measles are from complications related to the disease, which include blindness, encephalitis (an infection causing brain swelling and potentially brain damage) and
severe diarrhoea and related dehydration.
Others are ear infections and severe breathing problems, including pneumonia.There is no specific treatment for measles but caregiving should focus on relieving symptoms, making the person comfortable and preventing complications.
Measles in Kenya
Since 2002, Kenya has implemented measles control activities in line with the African Regional measles control efforts, aiming to reduce measles mortality.
Due to Kenya's border with the conflict countries of Somalia and South Sudan, Kenya faces a large influx of refugees and immigrants, many not vaccinated against measles.
This has led to several outbreaks in the past few years, either in refugee camps or in informal communities.
In April 2017, the first confirmed cases of measles, a leading cause of death among young children, were reported in Kenya.
The cases were recorded in the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Garissa, affecting children under 5.
For the period between January to July 2023, Kenya reported 141 confirmed measles cases in 10 counties with 10 deaths, a case fatality rate of 1.4 per cent.
As of June 2024, a measles outbreak that began in the country in December 2023 had caused 1,536 cases and 11 deaths, according to the World Health Organization African Region outbreak report.
