Children's Health Defense
An adult who died in Lea County, New Mexico, tested positive for measles, state health officials said on Thursday, but officials did not confirm that measles caused the death.
David Morgan, public information officer for the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH), told The Defender today that the state’s medical examiner is still investigating the official cause of death.
However, given the presence of the measles virus, the health department was counting the death as a “measles-related death,” Morgan said.
He said no additional information about the patient would be released, including comorbidities or other information about the patient’s health status.
The NMDOH said in a press release that a laboratory confirmed the presence of the measles virus and that the person was unvaccinated. The health department also said the person did not seek medical attention before dying, suggesting the measles test was performed post-mortem.
New Mexico health authorities said people should get vaccinated. “We don’t want to see New Mexicans getting sick or dying from measles,” said Dr. Chad Smelser, NMDOH deputy state epidemiologist. “The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is the best protection against this serious disease.”
The health department scheduled two free MMR vaccination clinics for next week.
The New Mexico Office of the Medical Examiner and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did not respond to The Defender’s request for comment…
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