A child in West Texas has died of measles, state health officials said on Wednesday, the first reported U.S. death from the highly contagious disease in a decade, as a Texas outbreak has grown from a handful of cases to more than 130 across two states.

Measles was considered to be eliminted in the U.S. in 2000, thanks to vaccine developments. But vaccination rates have dropped since the covid pandemic began.

A growing measles outbreak in Texas, where one unvaccinated child died and nearly 20 others have been hospitalized with serious complications, marks the first major test for U.S. Health Secretary Robert F.