Bad newsMeasles Kills a Seventh Person in Pennsylvania and a Second Child in Wisconsin
Pennsylvania confirmed its seventh measles death on 13 November and Wisconsin its second child death. State announcements now add up to more deaths than the six the CDC has confirmed, as US cases reach 5,412.
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Two more people have died of measles in the United States, and the official national count has not caught up. Pennsylvania’s Department of Health confirmed on Friday 13 November that an unvaccinated resident of Montour County died, the state’s seventh measles-associated death this year, according to the American Hospital Association. The same day, Wisconsin announced the death of a second child in its outbreak, Wisconsin Public Radio reports.
The numbers
Pennsylvania has 1,542 confirmed cases across 46 counties and 305 hospitalisations, the AHA reports from the state’s figures. That is 37 more cases than on 9 November. The seven deaths were residents of Lancaster (three), Jefferson (two), Mifflin (one) and Montour (one) counties. The state says it is also investigating a reported October death in Franklin County that does not yet meet the criteria to be confirmed.
Wisconsin’s health department says the second child died in Grant County. The first death, an infant, was announced a week earlier, on 5 November, and was the state’s first measles death since 1990. Officials give no further details to protect the families. The state has 649 cases across 20 counties since August, its highest total in more than 35 years, and says the true figure is probably higher because of underreporting.
Nationally, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 5,412 confirmed cases as of 12 November, up 230 from its previous update, Reuters reports. There have been 591 hospitalisations this year. The AHA says 96% of cases are in people who are unvaccinated or whose status is unknown.
A tally that does not add up
The CDC has confirmed six measles deaths this year, Reuters says, and does not name the states. State announcements are higher. Pennsylvania alone counts seven, Wisconsin two, and New York reported a child’s death on 2 November, covered in an earlier story on the Lewis County case. That makes at least ten.
A gap of this kind usually reflects reporting lag between state and federal systems, not a dispute over the facts. None of the sources we read says how many deaths the federal total will show once states and the agency reconcile. Until then, the six is best read as a floor.
The national record faces another test. The Pan American Health Organization’s expert commission is expected within days to decide whether the United States keeps its measles-free status, Reuters says, with cases above 5,000 for the first time since 1991. A Stanford physician told Reuters that six deaths in an outbreak this size, from a preventable disease, are a failure of public health.
What would change the outcome
Vaccination is the lever, and the sources agree on what it does. Wisconsin’s health department says two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective against measles and give lifelong protection. Doctors recommend the first dose after a child’s first birthday, but Wisconsin now advises children as young as six months who face a higher risk of exposure to get a dose.
Measles is among the most contagious viruses known, and complications include pneumonia and swelling of the brain. Children under five, pregnant people and those with weak immune systems are at greatest risk. The AHA’s figure that 96% of cases are unvaccinated or unknown shows where the protection gap lies.
