Pennsylvania officials report fourth measles-associated death in 'surge' of cases
The US has this year experienced the highest number of deaths from the virus since the 1990s.
Pennsylvania officials report fourth measles-associated death in 'surge' of cases
Pennsylvania state officials say a fourth person has died from complications linked to measles in an outbreak that has sickened hundreds.
The Mifflin County Coroner's Office in Pennsylvania said an 18-year-old died from acute encephalomyelitis, a rare and serious neurological complication of measles.
The Keystone state has recorded more than 600 measles cases this year, mostly in Lancaster County.
The US eliminated measles in 2000 with the help of vaccines, but this year it has seen the highest number of deaths from the virus since the 1990s.
Last year, three people - including two children - died in a measles outbreak in Texas that spread mainly among the Mennonite community.
The increase in cases has come as vaccine hesitancy in the US has grown in recent years, resulting in lower immunisation rates.
In Pennsylvania, state and local officials have said the 18-year-old and a 40-year-old - both unvaccinated - died from measles-related complications over the past month.
Two infants have also died. US children typically do not get their first MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine until 12 months of age.
The measles virus - with its distinctive blotchy red rash - once infected millions of children each year before a vaccine was developed.
The highly contagious virus can be deadly, and some patients can suffer long-term complications including encephalitis and immune amnesia.
Health officials say herd immunity requires vaccination of around 95% of the population.
Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro posted on X on Tuesday: "This disease was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 - yet decades later, we are seeing it surge due to lower vaccination rates."
The reporting of the deaths in Pennsylvania has sparked tensions between Shapiro and Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Shapiro has accused Kennedy of spreading misinformation about vaccines and has said he would withhold information about the deaths from the top health official to protect the families of the deceased.
Kennedy has questioned whether the infant deaths were actually caused by measles.
A 40-year-old woman died in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, with the coroner saying the cause of death was respiratory failure due to measles.
Lancaster County Coroner Stephen Diamantoni said a six-week-old born with a rare genetic condition, Amish lethal microcephaly, died of measles on 18 August.
Diamantoni has said another infant who tested positive for measles died soon after birth on 14 August, with the primary cause of death listed as a spleen laceration.
State health officials have said the death was caused by a measles infection that led to a spleen rupture.
In a post on X after the first two deaths in the state, Kennedy accused Shapiro of "political grandstanding".
The health secretary said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would update its information on deaths only after reviews were finished.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health said it had carried out "rigorous investigations" with the coroner's offices to confirm that the latest two deaths were indeed from measles.
"These investigations included confirming clinical evidence of a measles infection, a positive laboratory test, and that the death was not due to an unrelated cause," the health department said.
In November, a panel is due to decide whether the US will lose its status of having eliminated measles, which Canada lost last year.
Kennedy has been criticised by public health experts who say his remarks and reshaping of US vaccine policy have hindered efforts to stop the outbreaks.
A vaccine sceptic, Kennedy has offered mixed messaging on the MMR vaccine, which has proven safe and effective.
The health secretary has said the worsening measles outbreak is a global problem.
Speaking before a Senate committee last month, he said: "A lot of nations have lost their elimination status. The whole world had their worst measles year."