Pennsylvania's state health department reported on Tuesday that a fourth death linked to measles has occurred within the last month, marking the first such deaths in 35 years. The latest victim is an 18-year-old from Mifflin County who was unvaccinated and died due to complications from a rare neurological condition caused by measles. Another recent death involved a 40-year-old woman with asthma and severe lung disease from Jefferson County, also unvaccinated. Both deaths were confirmed after thorough investigations involving county coroners' offices. The health department attributes the outbreak to declining vaccination rates; over 700 cases have been reported this year in Pennsylvania alone, with nearly half requiring hospitalization.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A fourth death has been linked to measles in Pennsylvania, the state health department said Tuesday.
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department → link → Pennsylvania
All four deaths have been reported in the last month, as Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak continues to grow.
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outbreak → report → month
They are the first deaths associated with measles in the state in 35 years.
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They → associate → years
In all of last year, the U.S. recorded three measles deaths.
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U.S. → record → deaths
Pennsylvania’s health department said in a news release Tuesday that the two people who died most recently were from Jefferson and Mifflin counties.
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who → say → counties
Both were unvaccinated, the department said.
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department → say → ?
The Mifflin County coroner said Tuesday that an 18-year-old resident died “due to complications of measles,” specifically, a rare and severe neurological condition that causes inflammation in the brain.
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that → say → brain
The Jefferson County resident was a 40-year-old woman with asthma and severe lung disease who died on Saturday, the county coroner previously reported.
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coroner → die → Saturday
The two deaths in Lancaster County were in infants: a newborn who died shortly after birth and a 6-week-old.
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who → die → birth
The county coroner has said he believes measles was only the cause of death for the 6-week-old baby.
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measles → say → baby
In the case of the newborn, the coroner said he found evidence of the measles virus in the infant’s lung tissue but considered the cause of death to be an internal hemorrhage and “traumatic rupture” of the spleen.
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cause → say → spleen
The first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is typically given at around 1 year, so neither infant had been eligible to receive it.
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infant → give → it
Two doses offer 97% protection against measles, usually for life (the second is given at around age 5).
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second → offer → age
The Pennsylvania health department considers a death to be “measles associated” if there is clinical evidence of a measles infection, a positive laboratory test and if the death occurred within 30 days of symptoms starting.
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symptoms → consider → days
It also takes into account the person’s medical records and whether they were exposed to measles prior to their death.
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they → take → death
The department said in a press release that the two latest deaths were linked to measles after rigorous investigations involving the county coroners’ offices.
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deaths → say → offices
The two infant deaths involved similar investigations, the department said.
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department → involve → investigations
Nearly 700 measles cases have been reported in Pennsylvania this year; 133 people have been hospitalized.
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people → report → Pennsylvania
State officials have tied the outbreak to falling vaccination rates.
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officials → tie → rates
Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 3,294 measles cases, including 267 hospitalizations, as of Sept. 10.
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Centers → confirm → Sept.
The CDC has not yet confirmed any of the deaths reported in Pennsylvania and states on its website that it does not have any death records from 2026 indicating measles is the underlying cause.
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measles → confirm → 2026
Traditionally, the CDC has accepted death reports like Pennsylvania’s from state health departments; the discrepancy represents a significant departure from the way the agency has operated in the past.
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agency → accept → past
CDC Director Erica Schwartz said Monday that Pennsylvania, unlike other states with measles outbreaks, had not requested the CDC’s assistance.
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Pennsylvania → say → assistance
However, the Pennsylvania health department said it “maintains a strong working relationship with the professional staff at the CDC.”
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it → say → CDC
It also said it submits death records to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics “daily,” including for the recent measles-associated deaths.
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it → say → deaths
Last month, the deaths of the infants in Lancaster County ignited a flurry of misinformation online, as well as political sparring between Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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deaths → ignite → Shapiro
Shapiro accused Kennedy of spreading falsehoods about vaccines, while Kennedy suggested the deaths may have been “fabricated” and that Shapiro was seeking to profit from them politically.
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Shapiro → accuse → them
Anti-vaccine activists commonly argue that testing positive for measles does not necessarily mean someone died from the virus if a secondary illness or injury was involved.
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illness → argue → virus
However, doctors say measles is still the underlying cause in many of those cases, since patients would not have died otherwise.
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patients → say → cases
The father of the newborn in Lancaster County told NBC News the baby had been born prematurely and that his mother had measles.
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mother → tell → measles
Premature birth is a known complication of measles during pregnancy.
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birth → know → pregnancy
Measles can also cause the spleen to enlarge, which raises the risk of rupture.
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which → cause → rupture
The Lancaster County coroner said he did not find evidence that the newborn’s spleen had been enlarged; however, that can be difficult to detect in an autopsy.
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that → say → autopsy
The Aporia
