(Reuters) -The Texas health department reported 541 cases of measles in the state on Friday, an increase of 36 cases from its previous count on April 8, as the United States battles an outbreak of the childhood disease that has spread across 25 states.
Cases in Gaines County, the center of the outbreak, rose to 355 from the 328 reported on Tuesday, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.
Two unvaccinated children with no underlying health conditions have died of measles in Texas, including an 8-year-old girl last week.
New Mexico reported two additional cases since its last update on Tuesday, taking the total number of infections in the state to 58.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reported a nationwide total of 712 cases of measles so far this year in 25 jurisdictions, including Texas and New Mexico.
As of April 10, there were 105 additional cases of the childhood infection in the country compared to the agency’s previous count last week.
Since becoming the head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who has a long history of advocating against vaccines — has recently backed vaccination as the best way to prevent measles from spreading.
The agency said 97% of nationwide cases are individuals who are either unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.
There have been seven reported outbreaks — defined as three or more related cases — in 2025 so far, the agency said on Friday, compared to six in its last update.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Alan Barona)
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