Measles Outbreak Claims Life in Western Pennsylvania as Cases Mount
A woman in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, died from measles complications, as the state confirms 676 cases and 124 hospitalizations in 2026.
A 40-year-old woman in Jefferson County, western Pennsylvania, died on Saturday from complications related to measles, the county coroner's office reported, marking another fatality in the state's ongoing outbreak of the highly infectious disease.
The coroner's office said it is coordinating with the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Coroner Greg Furlong described the death as "a heartbreaking loss for the family and an unfortunate reminder that measles can be a serious and potentially life-threatening disease."
The state health department said on Friday that it has confirmed 676 measles cases across Pennsylvania in 2026, along with 124 hospitalizations linked to the disease. The first measles-related deaths in the United States this year were reported by the department on August 25.
The department is conducting its own review of the Jefferson County case, applying its detailed epidemiological case definition for a measles-associated death. That definition was shared with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists on September 10.
The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Jefferson County death.
The outbreak in Pennsylvania comes amid a broader resurgence of measles in the United States, where official data shows declining vaccination rates. Earlier this month, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic, asked his new CDC director to remove a reference to two deaths from the agency's online measles tally after questioning whether the disease contributed to the fatalities.