The news on Wednesday that a child died from measles at a Lubbock hospital is something that infectious disease experts like Dr. Peter Hotez have feared since an outbreak of the virus began spreading in northwest Texas.

At least 124 cases have been reported since late January, mostly among children and teenagers who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown.

A child who was not vaccinated has died from measles in West Texas. It's the first death in an outbreak that began late last month and the first from measles in the U.S. since 2015.