Wisconsin reports its first measles death in decades, the third in the U.S. this week
An infant in Wisconsin has died of measles, the state health department said Thursday — the third measles-related death reported in the U.S. this week.
It’s Wisconsin’s first measles-related death since 1990, the health department said, adding that a coroner had listed measles as the infant’s immediate cause of death.
The news came just one day after Pennsylvania’s health department reported a measles-associated death there — the state’s sixth this year. The department said Wednesday that an unvaccinated resident in Jefferson County who tested positive for measles had died.
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In total, the U.S. has recorded eight measles-associated deaths this year, according to state health department data. It’s the highest measles death toll in the country since 1991.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed four of those deaths. The agency says it will update its count “as additional information becomes available and relevant reviews are completed.”
None of the eight people who have died were vaccinated, according to state health departments; some were ineligible because of their age or health status. Typically, the first dose of the vaccine is administered around a child’s first birthday.
Before the outbreaks in Wisconsin, New York and Pennsylvania, none of the states had recorded a measles death in more than 30 years.
Doctors in Pennsylvania estimate at least six babies have been born with measles02:10Pennsylvania’s outbreak, which began in April, is by far the largest in the country, with a case total approaching 1,500 across 45 counties, according to the state health department. A Franklin County coroner reported an additional death last month possibly linked to measles, but the state health department said Wednesday that it has not yet confirmed any deaths as measles-associated in the county.
FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Everyone was mad’: How anger helped fuel Latino voter turnout and a historic Democratic shift in TexasFOR SUBSCRIBERSDemocrats’ midterm win threatens to disrupt Trump’s fragile truce with XiFOR SUBSCRIBERSScott Colom criticizes Democrats for writing off Mississippi amid close Senate vote countFOR SUBSCRIBERSAre we approaching a new era of Alzheimer’s prevention?FOR SUBSCRIBERSMaps: How the vote shifted from the 2024 presidential election to 2026FOR SUBSCRIBERSAnger over GOP education agenda fueled blue sweeps in Texas, advocates sayFOR SUBSCRIBERSMicroplastics are altering the color of the ocean, and the changes can be seen from spaceFOR SUBSCRIBERSDemocratic Senate set to thwart Trump’s Supreme Court and judicial appointmentsFOR SUBSCRIBERSHow an unlikely Virginia law could offer a path to justice after a Texas campus sexual assaultFOR SUBSCRIBERSNewly elected Democrats could become 2028 power brokersFOR SUBSCRIBERSStudents’ scrolling thousands of YouTube videos shows need for stricter rules, officials sayFOR SUBSCRIBERSEven before election, Trump’s White House was prepping for Democratic investigationsFOR SUBSCRIBERSInside the miscalculations that cost Trump control of CongressFOR SUBSCRIBERSWhat Democrats plan to do with House majority: Investigate Trump and tackle affordabilityFOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump discussing possible Hegseth replacements, sources say Slide 1 of 1Nationally, the CDC has confirmed 4,852 measles cases this year — more than double last year’s count and the highest number since 1991. The dramatic rise is linked, in part, to a decline in vaccination rates across the country. Two doses of the measles vaccine are 97% effective against the disease.
Measles has been considered eliminated in the U.S. since 2000, a designation that indicates the virus is no longer constantly circulating, though there can be occasional outbreaks. The Pan American Health Organization, a group within the World Health Organization, will meet next week to determine whether the U.S. should lose that elimination status.
A measles infection is particularly dangerous for babies and young children, whose immune systems aren’t always developed enough to fight an infection. Roughly 1 to 3 out of every 1,000 children with measles die from respiratory and neurological complications, according to the CDC.
Measles often starts with a high fever, cough, runny nose and pink or watery eyes. From there, people may develop white spots on the insides of the cheeks near the molars and a blotchy rash of flat, red spots. Severe cases can progress to pneumonia or swelling of the brain.
Aria BendixAria Bendix is the breaking health reporter for NBC News Digital.
