A child has died of measles in rural West Texas, US government officials said on Wednesday (February 26), marking the first death from the infection in the US in 10 years. According to AP, the measles outbreak began last month, and 124 cases have since been reported across nine counties. It was originally concentrated in a rural Mennonite community in Gaines County, where children are often not vaccinated and are home-schooled. What is measles? According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. It first affects the respiratory tract, with symptoms including a high fever, cough, runny nose and a telltale rash all over the body. A severe infection can be fatal. While measles spreads from an infected person breathing, coughing or sneezing, vaccination is effective protection from the virus. Who are Mennonites? Mennonites are a stream of Anabaptist Christians. Anabaptists basically believe that baptism should be performed only on adults, who can make that decision for themselves. “Anabaptism grew out of the 16th-century Radical Reformation (which followed the Protestant Reformation).At that time, infant baptism was not only an accepted practice, but it also bestowed citizenship. These early Anabaptist Christians were the forerunners of today’s Anabaptist/Mennonite Christians and many others in the “Free Church” tradition that sought the separation of church and state,” the website of the Mennonite Church USA says. The Mennonites are named after Menno Simons (1496-1561), a Dutch priest. Historically, anabaptists were persecuted by both Catholic and Protestant rulers, and thus, some are still suspicious of the government. This is one of the reasons the more conservative Mennonite communities do not get their children vaccinated. “Mennonite/Anabaptist doctrine holds allegiance to God above nationalism. This position influences Mennonite engagement with government and politics. Traditionally, Mennonites did not vote or participate in political processes,” the church website says, adding that this is changing. Because they do not believe in wars, Mennonites have also opposed paying taxes to the government, so their money is not used to finance military activities. In the Texas area that is witnessing the measles outbreak, the Mennonite population includes Old Colony Mennonites, a conservative sect. They migrated from modern Ukraine to Russia to Canada to Mexico to Texas. “Gaines County is also home to one of the highest rates of school-aged children in Texas who have opted out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14% skipping a required dose last school year,” an AP report said.
