PA Measles Death Toll Rises To 4

HARRISBURG, PA — The number of people who have succumbed to measles in Pennsylvania this year has risen to four, the state Department of Health announced Tuesday.

Health department officials confirmed a Tuesday release from Mifflin County Coroner Andrea Alcalda that an 18-year-old unvaccinated woman there died from complications of the virus. Her cause of death was determined to be acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare and severe neurological complication of measles.

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The state health department also confirmed Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong's weekend announcement that a 40-year-old unvaccinated woman had succumbed to measles complications.

"My thoughts are with the two families who lost loved ones to this highly-contagious virus, as Pennsylvania faces the worst measles outbreak in more than three decades," said Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen.

"We remain committed to working with our partners across Pennsylvania to stem this outbreak and prevent more deaths. That means ensuring people have the facts about measles and access to the MMR vaccine – which kept measles outbreaks at bay for decades."

To protect the privacy of both individuals and their families, the health department will not be releasing any additional details that could identify them.

The latest deaths will be added to the state's measles dashboard when it is updated on Wednesday.

The deaths follows two measles-associated deaths in Lancaster County last month reported by the state last month, the first connected to the virus in the state in 35 years.

To determine that the latest cases met the criteria to be considered measles-associated deaths prior to announcing them, the health department DOH conducted investigations with cooperation from the Jefferson and Mifflin County coroner's offices. The inquires included confirming clinical evidence of a measles infection, a positive laboratory test, and that the death was not due to an unrelated cause.

No Pennsylvania measles deaths have been included yet in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's national count. The National Center for Health Statistics has not identified any 2026 deaths with measles as the underlying cause, and CDC and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists are developing a standardized definition for classifying measles deaths.