{"id":6354,"date":"2026-10-01T00:11:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T00:11:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6354"},"modified":"2026-10-01T00:11:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T00:11:40","slug":"pennsylvania-confirms-fifth-measles-associated-death-as-us-outbreak-grows-health-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6354","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania confirms fifth measles-associated death as US outbreak grows | Health News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cases have more than doubled since August as a dispute with federal health officials over the death count continues.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Pennsylvania has confirmed a fifth measles-associated death this year, as the number of infections approaches 1,000 amid a rapidly growing outbreak across the state.<\/p>\n

The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced on Wednesday that an unvaccinated resident of Lancaster County who tested positive for measles had died.<\/p>\n

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The department said the death was reported to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).<\/p>\n

The state has recorded 943 confirmed measles cases across 39 counties so far in 2026, including 40 new cases since September 28. At least 176 people have been hospitalised.<\/p>\n

The US is currently seeing the worst measles outbreak in the country since 1991, with several deaths reported over the last couple of years.<\/p>\n

Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but the highly infectious disease has made a comeback in recent years, a trend some experts have linked to a rise in vaccine scepticism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The latest death is the third associated with measles reported in Lancaster County this year.<\/p>\n

Located in the south-central part of the state, Lancaster County is considered the centre of Pennsylvania Dutch Country, home to the nation\u2019s oldest Amish and Mennonite communities. Both communities have under-vaccinated populations.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania announced its first two measles-associated deaths<\/a> in August, the first measles-related deaths recorded in the state in 35 years. Since then, the number of confirmed infections has more than doubled.<\/p>\n

The growing outbreak has prompted the administration of Governor Josh Shapiro to expand vaccination efforts and public health outreach.<\/p>\n

Protection is most commonly conferred through a combination injection known as the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or the MMR shot.<\/p>\n

According to Pennsylvania\u2019s Department of Health, more than 53,000 MMR vaccine doses were administered statewide in September, more than twice the number given during a typical month. Health experts say that two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97 percent effective at preventing measles.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the CDC confirmed two<\/a> measles-related deaths in its national tally, though the agency did not identify where the deaths occurred.<\/p>\n

The federal count has been at the centre of a dispute<\/a> between Shapiro and US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr over how measles deaths are classified.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania has reported five \u201cmeasles-associated\u201d deaths, a designation used when a person with confirmed measles dies within 30 days of developing symptoms, unless the death resulted from an unrelated event.<\/p>\n

But Kennedy, a vaccine sceptic, has accused Shapiro of politicising the deaths and initially questioned whether two deaths reported by the state in August were linked to measles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe announcement appears to have been premature, and the deaths may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the Governor\u2019s hopeful staffers,\u201d Kennedy wrote on the social media platform X on August 26.<\/p>\n

Infectious disease experts warn that the dispute over how to classify the deaths puts the CDC at odds with a longstanding approach to tracking the consequences of measles. Epidemiologists have told Al Jazeera that tracking \u201cmeasles-associated\u201d deaths has long been a standard<\/a> used by the World Health Organization and the CDC.<\/p>\n

The latest death comes as Pennsylvania officials continue to seek additional federal assistance with the outbreak.<\/p>\n

In its push for greater epidemiological support, the state requested an Epi-Aid<\/a> investigation \u2013 used for urgent disease outbreaks and other disasters \u2013 from the CDC earlier this month, as cases continue to spread.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Cases have more than doubled since August as a dispute with federal health officials over the death count continues. Pennsylvania has confirmed a fifth measles-associated death this year, as the number of infections approaches 1,000 amid a rapidly growing outbreak across the state. The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced on Wednesday that an unvaccinated resident…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t