U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Wednesday (February 26) that two people have died from a measles outbreak.

"We are following the measles epidemic every day. I think there's 124 people who have contracted measles at this point, mainly in Gaines County, Texas. Mainly, we're told, in the Mennonite community. There are two people who have died but we're watching it. And there are about 20 people hospitalized, mainly for quarantine,”  Kennedy, speaking from U.S. President Donald Trump's first cabinet meeting, said.

“We're watching it, we put out a post on it yesterday and we're going to continue to follow it. Incidentally there have been four measles outbreaks this year in this country. Last year there were 16. So it's not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year."

Earlier on Wednesday it was reported that one school-aged child in West Texas had died of measles, marking the first US fatality from the highly contagious disease in nearly a decade.

Texas child dies in measles outbreak, first US fatality in years

The death comes amid declining immunization rates nationwide, with the latest cases concentrated in a Mennonite religious community that historically has shown vaccine hesitancy.

It comes at a delicate moment for US public health as Kennedy, who has long spread falsehoods about the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, begins his tenure as health secretary.

"The school-aged child who was not vaccinated was hospitalized in Lubbock last week and tested positive for measles," the state health department said in a news release.

A statement from Lubbock city confirmed that the child passed away "within the last 24 hours."

US measles cases jump from 14 to 93 in 1 week as Texas outbreak grows

Since the start of the year, more than 130 measles cases have been reported in west Texas and neighboring New Mexico, the vast majority in unvaccinated children.

Eighteen have been hospitalized in Texas, and health officials warn the outbreak is likely to grow.

Addressing reporters during a meeting of President Donald Trump's cabinet, Kennedy downplayed the situation, stating, "It's not unusual. You have measles outbreaks every year."

He also stated the death toll as two -- but neither the Texas nor New Mexico health departments said they knew of any additional fatality.

"While multiple measles outbreaks in the United States have not resulted in a death, it was only a matter of time that one would occur," infectious disease physician Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins University told AFP.

"Measles still kills over 100,000 individuals every year worldwide. The death should serve as a reminder that there was a reason that the vaccine was developed and that the vaccine is a value to individuals," Adalja said.

"These deaths are almost entirely preventable." With Agence France-Presse