Pennsylvania reports sixth measles-related death as outbreak grows
An unvaccinated 39-year-old woman in Franklin County has been reported as Pennsylvania’s sixth measles-related death. State officials reported 1,137 cases and 219 hospitalizations on Monday, while the health department said it was reviewing the latest death.
arstechnica.com39-year-old unvaccinated woman becomes 6th measles death in Pennsylvania
theguardian.comPennsylvania announces sixth death in measles outbreak as case numbers rise
Latest death under review
A 39-year-old unvaccinated woman in Franklin County died on October 10 after recently testing positive for measles. She had several underlying health conditions, according to the county coroner’s office.
The office listed her primary cause of death as a “probable acute cardiac event due to possible complications of the measles” and said the death met Pennsylvania’s definition of a measles-related fatality. A state health department spokesperson said Monday that officials were conducting a thorough review of the reported death.
Cases and hospitalizations rise
Pennsylvania officials reported 1,137 cases and 219 hospitalizations on Monday. The previous update, on October 9, listed 1,136 cases since the start of the year, including 1,124 linked to the outbreak that began in April.
As of that Friday update, the outbreak spanned 41 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, with 157 new cases reported in the preceding week. State figures showed fewer than 1% of cases occurred in fully vaccinated people.
Death counts differ
The five previously reported deaths involved a newborn, a six-week-old infant, an 18-year-old, a 20-year-old and a 40-year-old. All were unvaccinated; the infants were too young to have been vaccinated.
The Guardian reported that the CDC’s website, last updated Friday, still listed only two measles deaths nationwide, amid a dispute between US health secretary Robert F Kennedy and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro over how measles-related fatalities are classified.
