A second child infected with measles has died as an outbreak of the disease surges in West Texas. The 8-year-old girl died Thursday of "measles pulmonary failure" at a Lubbock hospital, as reported by The New York Times on Sunday. Another girl, 6, from the West Texas region died in February after contracting the disease.

HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. visited West Texas after the measles -related death of a second school-aged child to “console the families” and “to support Texas health officials” in efforts to control an outbreak that has reached nearly 500 cases with two pediatric deaths.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R), a medical doctor, called on top health officials to “unequivocally” endorse measles vaccinations before “another child dies.”

Ahead of a “Make America Healthy Again” tour across the southwestern U.S., Kennedy said in a social media post that he was in Gaines County to comfort the families who have buried two young children.

The illness has sickened more than 480 people in the state since late January.

An 8-year-old girl in Texas died Thursday morning of “measles pulmonary failure,” according to The New York Times, citing records it obtained.