A school-age child has died of measles in West Texas, the first death from the disease in a decade in the United States. The child had not been vaccinated against measles, according to the city of Lubbock's health department.

The death, confirmed by Katherine Wells, the Lubbock health department's director of public health, is part of a fast-moving outbreak that's infected at least 124 people — mostly children — in rural West Texas.

The official tally of people who have been hospitalized is 18, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

That number isn't up to date, said Dr. Lara Johnson, a pediatrician and the chief medical officer at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock.

Johnson said in an email that her team has cared for "around 20" kids with measles so far.

All of those kids, she said, were admitted because they were having trouble breathing. None had been vaccinated against measles.

The outbreak has been limited so far to parts of Texas bordering New Mexico. That state has also reported nine measles cases, but officials have not said whether they are connected.

>https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/person-dies-measles-west-texas-outbreak-rcna193812