米、麻疹で子ども２人目死亡 感染者約６５０人に

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】米南西部で発生した麻疹（はしか）の流行により、２人目の子どもが死亡したと、当局が６日に発表した。感染者は約６５０人に上っている。（写真は、米ユタ州プロボのユタ郡保健局で、ＭＭＲ〈麻疹・風疹・ムンプス混合〉ワクチンを投与するする看護師）
　テキサス州の医療機関、ＵＭＣヘルスシステムの幹部はＡＦＰに対し、最近麻疹と診断された学齢期の子どもが亡くなったことを明らかにした。基礎疾患はなかったが、麻疹の予防接種を受けておらず、合併症の治療を受けていたとしている。
　今回の麻疹の流行は米国で数年ぶりの大規模なものとなっている。
　ロバート・Ｆ・ケネディ・ジュニア厚生長官は過去に、ワクチンの重要性を軽視する発言をし、医療専門家を驚かせたことがあるが、６日にはＸ（旧ツイッター）に「麻疹の拡散を防ぐ最も効果的な方法は、ＭＭＲ（麻疹・風疹・ムンプス混合）ワクチンだ」と投稿した。
　子どもの遺族を慰問するためにテキサス州を訪れたとするケネディ氏は、保健福祉省（ＨＨＳ）と疾病対策センター（ＣＤＣ）が同州での予防接種を支援していると付け加えた。６日時点で「全米２２州で６４２件の症例が確認されており、うち４９９件がテキサス州内だ」と説明した。
　３日のＣＤＣの発表によると、これまでに集計した症例の９７％は予防接種を受けていない患者と判明している。このうち年齢不詳者を除き、５歳未満が約１９６人、５～１９歳が２４０人、２０歳以上が１５９人となっている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2025/04/07-17:27）

A measles outbreak has killed a second child in the southwestern United States, authorities said Sunday, with almost 650 people now infected as the highly contagious disease spreads.
We are deeply saddened to report that a school-aged child who was recently diagnosed with measles has passed away, Aaron Davis, vice president of UMC Health System, a medical center in Texas, told AFP.
The child had been receiving treatment for complications of measles in hospital, he said, adding they were not vaccinated against measles and had no known underlying health conditions.
As the US grapples with its worst measles outbreak in years, President Donald Trump's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has alarmed health experts with his past rhetoric downplaying the importance of vaccines.
Kennedy, however, posted on X Sunday that the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.
He added that his Health and Human Services (HHS) department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were supporting distribution of the shots in Texas.
Kennedy, who said he had traveled to Texas to comfort the child's family, also tallied 642 confirmed cases of measles across 22 states, 499 of those in Texas as of Sunday.
Questioned by journalists aboard Air Force One, Trump appeared to downplay the outbreak as so far a fairly small number of people relative to what we're talking about.
But he added that if it progresses, we'll have to take action very strongly, without giving further details.
- 'Importance of vaccination' -
The CDC has recorded cases stretching from Alaska to Florida, as well as in New York City.
Texas had reported its first measles death, also of a child, in late February -- marking the first US fatality from the disease in nearly a decade.
The death of a New Mexico adult last month was also classified by the CDC as a measles-related fatality.
The vast majority of measles cases tallied by the CDC -- 97 percent -- are patients not vaccinated against the measles, it said on April 3.
Some 196 of them were under five years old, 240 were aged 5-19, and an additional 159 were aged 20 years or older, with a few others of unknown age, the health agency said.
The CDC, which defines an outbreak as three or more related cases, has recorded six outbreaks so far in 2025. Some 93 percent of the confirmed cases are related to those outbreaks.
For comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during 2024 and 69 percent of cases (198 of 285) were outbreak-associated, it said on its website.
This unfortunate event underscores the importance of vaccination, Davis, of UMC Health System in Texas, said in an email regarding the latest death.
We encourage all individuals to stay current with their vaccinations to protect themselves and the broader community.