(NEXSTAR) – One of the astir contagious viruses successful the satellite is spreading astir the United States. So acold successful 2025 determination person been 3 chiseled measles outbreaks and astatine slightest 164 cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention coming from 9 states.

The largest of the outbreaks is successful West Texas, wherever the full fig of radical diagnosed with measles grew to 146 connected Friday. An unvaccinated kid successful the portion died past week. It was the archetypal measles decease successful the U.S. since 2015.

While the absorption successful caller weeks has been connected Texas, 8 different states person confirmed cases of the virus, the CDC reports. Nine cases person been confirmed successful New Mexico's Lea County, and astatine slightest 1 lawsuit has been confirmed successful Alaska, California, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.

Twenty percent of the reported cases person required hospitalization, according to the CDC. Most of those infected person been children.

The microorganism is airborne and spreads easy erstwhile an infected idiosyncratic breathes, sneezes oregon coughs.

“On average, 1 infected idiosyncratic whitethorn infect astir 15 different people,” said Scott Weaver, a halfway of excellence manager for the Global Virus Network, an planetary coalition. “There’s lone a fewer viruses that adjacent travel adjacent to that.”

Measles past spreads from the respiratory tract passim the body, causing a precocious fever; runny nose; cough; red, watery eyes; and a rash.

Measles isn't usually deadly, but it tin person superior complications, particularly for young children. Among kids with measles, astir 1 successful each 20 develops pneumonia, which tin beryllium fatal. About 1 successful each 1,000 besides suffers swelling of the encephalon called encephalitis — which tin pb to convulsions, deafness oregon intelligence disability.

How tin you forestall measles?

The champion mode to debar measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The archetypal changeable is recommended for children betwixt 12 and 15 months aged and the 2nd betwixt 4 and 6 years old.

“Before a vaccine was developed successful the 1960s, everybody got” measles, Weaver said. "But past erstwhile the vaccine came along, that was a implicit game-changer and 1 of the astir palmy vaccines successful the past of medicine.”

There is “great data” connected the information and effectiveness of the vaccine, helium said, due to the fact that it's been astir for decades.

“Any of these outbreaks we’re seeing tin easy beryllium prevented by expanding the complaint of vaccination successful the community,” helium said. “If we tin support 95% of radical vaccinated, we’re not going to spot this happening successful the future. And we’ve slipped good beneath that level successful galore parts of the country.”

Vaccination rates person declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, and astir states are beneath the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners — the level needed to support communities against measles outbreaks.

Adults tin besides get MMR boosters, adjacent if they had 2 doses arsenic a kid oregon aren't definite if they were vaccinated erstwhile young. Those who are immunocompromised oregon who are surviving successful an country with a ample outbreak whitethorn privation to inquire their doc astir getting different dose.

“But I don’t deliberation everyone needs to spell and tally retired to their doc close present if they did person 2 doses arsenic a child,” Weaver said. "If radical would conscionable get the modular vaccination, nary of this would beryllium happening.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.