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Pennsylvania faces largest measles outbreak since early 1990s
Pennsylvania surpasses 1,000 confirmed measles cases, with outbreaks growing in Chester and Lancaster counties and ongoing statewide vaccination efforts.
PENNSYLVANIA - Pennsylvania is driving the nation's worst measles outbreak in decades as the sixth measles-related death has been reported in the state this year.
What we know:
The Franklin County Coroner's Office announced Monday that it investigated the Oct. 10 death of a 39-year-old woman with a recent measles diagnosis.
She had "several underlying conditions, including a past diagnosis of measles with treatment," the office said. The coroner has not said what those other conditions were.
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Pennsylvania measles outbreak surpasses 1,000 cases
Pennsylvania on Tuesday exceeded 1,000 measles cases, many of which were reported in Chester and Lancaster counties.
The office said the death meets the Pennsylvania Department of Health's definition of a measles-associated death, which requires the death to occur within 30 days of symptom onset in a person with clinical evidence of measles, a positive lab test and no unrelated cause of death.
The coroner called it the first death in Franklin County "in many years" with a recent history of a measles diagnosis. The office said it will not release details that could identify the woman, citing privacy for her and her family.
What we don't know:
The coroner has not said whether the Franklin County woman was vaccinated. The Pennsylvania Department of Health has also not yet commented on this case.
Pennsylvania measles outbreak update: Fifth death confirmed in Lancaster County
An unvaccinated Lancaster County resident has died from measles, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said Wednesday, as the number of confirmed measles cases in the state reached 943 across 39 counties in 2026.
The backstory:
The Franklin County death follows five measles-associated deaths the state had already reported this year.
- August: The state's first two deaths, reported in August, were infants in Lancaster County.
- September: Earlier that month, the state reported two more deaths: an 18-year-old in Mifflin County and a 40-year-old woman in Jefferson County. On September 30, the Department of Health announced that an unvaccinated Lancaster County resident who tested positive for measles had died. The department did not say when the person died. The department withheld age and other details to protect the person's privacy.
All five people who died were unvaccinated, according to a Reuters report.
Pennsylvania measles outbreak passes 1,000 cases in worst year for US since 1991
A measles outbreak in Pennsylvania has become the largest one experienced by a state in more than three decades as the number of reported cases crosses into four-digit territory.
Big picture view:
The CDC reported 4,080 U.S. measles cases this year as of Oct. 9. That is the highest total since 1991, with Pennsylvania accounting for more than 25 percent of infections nationwide.
Six measles-associated deaths have been reported in the state, but the CDC lists only two on its national tracking page. In early September, the CDC said it would count a measles death only when the National Center for Health Statistics lists measles as the underlying cause, and those records can take weeks to arrive.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from the Franklin County Coroner's Office, CDC, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Reuters and previous reporting by FOX 29.