North America

Measles kills Wisconsin infant

First death in the state since 1990 and worst case count in over 35 years, CDC counts four dead nationally while Pennsylvania alone confirms six

Images

Infant’s death marks Wisconsin’s first measles fatality in more than three decades Infant’s death marks Wisconsin’s first measles fatality in more than three decades foxnews.com
foxnews.com
CDC confirms third measles-related death in US CDC confirms third measles-related death in US foxnews.com
A poster to spread Measles awareness offers symptoms to watch out for, facts about measles, and resources if someone may have it. A poster to spread Measles awareness offers symptoms to watch out for, facts about measles, and resources if someone may have it. foxnews.com
A box of the MMR vaccine, closeup of gloved hand holding box of the MMR vaccine next to a vial of the vaccine. A box of the MMR vaccine, closeup of gloved hand holding box of the MMR vaccine next to a vial of the vaccine. foxnews.com

An infant has died of measles in southwestern Wisconsin, the state's first death from the disease since 1990, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced on Thursday. The department declined to name a more precise location or release further details about the child, citing the family's privacy.

The death closes a year in which Wisconsin has recorded 431 measles cases across 13 counties, its highest count in more than 35 years. Nine patients were hospitalized with severe symptoms. Days earlier, a child died of measles in Lewis County, New York — the first measles-associated death in that state in more than 30 years. Both of this week's announced victims were children.

The official figures do not agree with each other. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counts four measles-associated deaths nationwide this year, while state health departments report higher numbers. Pennsylvania has confirmed six deaths and is investigating a seventh that has not yet met its own criteria for classification as measles-associated — a state total that on its own exceeds the CDC's national count. The same outbreak produces different totals depending on which agency is doing the counting and which criteria it applies.

Federal health officials responded with statements. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz each affirmed that the MMR vaccine is the most effective way to prevent measles, and Wisconsin officials urged residents to be proactive in preventing illness — with the year's case count already at 431. Measles can cause pneumonia and swelling of the brain; children younger than five, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems face the highest risk of complications.

The virus has not changed; the population around it has. The United States declared measles eliminated in 2000, a status built on vaccination rates high enough to stop the disease circulating on its own. Twenty-six years later, a coroner in southwestern Wisconsin listed the immediate cause of an infant's death as measles.