At least 124 cases of measles have been identified in Texas since late January, mostly among children and teenagers who are either unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown, officials say.

A child who wasn't vaccinated died in a measles outbreak in rural West Texas, officials there said Wednesday, the first U.S. death from the highly contagious respiratory disease since 2015. The school-aged child had been hospitalized and died Tuesday night,

An unvaccinated school-aged child has died in the measles outbreak in Texas, which has seen 124 reported cases of the disease. It's the first measles death in the U.S. since 2015. Pediatrician and infectious disease specialist Dr.

Angela Solis, a pharmacist at Martin's Wellness and Compounding Pharmacies, said measles is the most contagious respiratory illness. She said interest in the MMR vaccine has increased at the pharmacies since the Texas measles outbreak began.

The measles outbreak in Texas has now turned deadly. Texas and federal health officials have just reported the first deaths attributed to the still-growing outbreak, which has sickened over a hundred people.

An unvaccinated child in west Texas died from measles this week, according to a Wednesday news release from the Texas Department of State Health Services. This is the first death from the west Texas measles outbreak that began late last month, and is the first death from measles in the United States since 2015.

A child died from the measles after being hospitalized in Lubbock, the first death amid an outbreak that began last month in the South Plains region, health officials said. The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the school-aged child's death on Wednesday but did not offer any additional details about the child's age or identity.

The measles outbreak in Texas has grown to 124 cases mostly in children and in those who are unvaccinated, according to state data published Tuesday.