NORRISTOWN, PA — Pennsylvania confirmed two new measles deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total number of deaths during this year's outbreaks to four.
Montgomery County's case count remains at three, with no new cases in recent weeks. However, the county is adjacent to one of the state's more significant outbreaks in Chester County.
Chester has seen nine new measles cases in the past week, according to state statistics, as Pennsylvania saw its third measles death this year confirmed over the weekend.
Chester County remains on the forefront of the state's outbreak, as its 65 cases are more than anywhere else outside of Lancaster (265 cases) and Mifflin (74) counties. Both of the other deaths were in Lancaster County.
Overall, the state has 693 cases confirmed, with 99 new cases last week.
It marks the worst measles outbreak in the state in more than three decades. Not since the 1990-1991 outbreak centered in Philadelphia, which sickened some 1,400, has measles been so out of control in Pennsylvania.
County health officials urge residents to get vaccinated or to check on their immunity status.
Healthcare providers can check for vaccination status even if you don't have your healthcare records by conducting a measles titer, a blood test that checks for measles antibodies.
While many residents are vaccinated and up to 97 percent immune to the virus, unvaccinated rates have rapidly risen. The CDC says this is why measles has made a comeback after it had been all but obliterated by 2000.
Measles is highly infectious to those who are not vaccinated or who have not contracted it before, but it is extremely rare for a vaccinated individual to contract it, according to health officials. In the highly unlikely case a vaccinated person does get measles, they usually have milder symptoms.
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