New Mexico has reported 54 cases of measles, with most cases involving unvaccinated residents, and between Feb. 1 and April 3, 15,718 New Mexicans have received the measles, mumps, rubella

About 500 Texans, mostly young unvaccinated children, have contracted the disease. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the West Texas town that has been the epicenter of the outbreak.

The measles outbreak in western Texas has hit 481 cases as 59 newly identified infections were confirmed over the last three days, according to new data published Friday.

A second unvaccinated child in West Texas has died from measles-related complications, hospital officials confirmed on Sunday.The child, identified as an 8-year-old girl, died early Thursday morning from "measles pulmonary failure" at UMC Health System in Lubbock,

A spokesperson for UMC Health System in Lubbock, Texas, said that the child was "receiving treatment for complications of measles while hospitalized" and was not vaccinated.

U .S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the epicenter of Texas' still-growing measles outbreak on Sunday, the same day a funeral was held for a second young child who was not vaccinated and died from a measles-related illness.

A second child has died from measles as an outbreak of the highly contagious virus continues to grow in western Texas. The school-aged child was not vaccinated, had no underlying health conditions and was in hospital suffering complications from measles, Aaron Davis, the vice-president of UMC Health System, told the BBC.