Texas authorities on Wednesday announced the first measles death in the state's outbreak of the highly contagious disease. The death, of a school-age child, is the first measles death in the U.S. since 2015,

LUBBOCK — A school-aged child has died in Lubbock from measles, the first death reported in an ongoing outbreak that has infected more than 120 people in West Texas since January, Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed on Wednesday.

An unvaccinated child has died as measles cases in rural West Texas continue to surge, making it the largest outbreak in the US in six years. Initially confined to a close-knit Mennonite community, the outbreak has now spread to other under-vaccinated groups.