Parents rush to vaccinate children after measles outbreak hits Texas

LUBBOCK, United States, Feb 28 (AFP): Five-year-old Shado is one of dozens of children being rushed to a health center in the US state of Texas to get the measles vaccine, after the recent death in the area of a child who was not immunized against the highly contagious virus.

"Look at you, you're so brave," the nurse administering the shot tells the young girl, who is sitting on her father's lap.

The death came as immunization rates have declined nationwide, with the latest cases in the west Texas town of Lubbock concentrated in a Mennonite religious community that has historically shown vaccine hesitancy.

Mark Medina brought his children, Shado and her brother Azazel, after they heard about that death.

"It kind of sparked fear and we're like, 'Alright, it's time to go get vaccinated. Let's go,'" the 31-year-old father told AFP.

Rachel Dolan, a Lubbock health official, said the initial outbreak spread rapidly through the community south of the town, potentially fueled by a lack of vaccination.

"It's the most contagious virus that we know of, and so just that one little spark, you know, really caused a lot of cases and rapid spread among that population," she said.

This year more than 130 measles cases already have been reported in west Texas and neighboring New Mexico, the vast majority in unvaccinated children.