Pennsylvania's measles outbreak has now claimed its sixth victim: a 39-year-old unvaccinated woman from Franklin County who died on Saturday, October 10. The coroner's office listed the primary cause of death as a probable acute cardiac event due to possible complications of measles. The woman had underlying health conditions and had recently tested positive, according to a social media advisory from the county coroner.
The state's outbreak, which began in April, has reached 1,136 cases as of October 9, with 1,124 tied to the current outbreak. Hospitalizations stand at 218, and the virus has spread to 41 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties. In the previous week alone, 157 new cases were reported, indicating the outbreak is not slowing. The five earlier deaths included a newborn, a 6-week-old, an 18-year-old, a 20-year-old, and a 40-year-old; all were unvaccinated, with the two infants too young for vaccination.
The national picture is also worsening. The US has recorded 4,080 measles cases this year, the highest total since 1991, and Pennsylvania's outbreak is the largest on record since that year. Experts from the Pan American Health Organization are expected to review US measles data in November, and the country is widely expected to lose its measles elimination status. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has reported only two of the six deaths so far, a discrepancy that may draw scrutiny during that review. The state health department said it is aware of the new death and is reviewing the case. Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but slipping vaccination rates and misinformation have contributed to its resurgence. [Source: Ars Technica]