Third Measles Death in Pennsylvania Is First Adult Victim

A 40-year-old unvaccinated Jefferson County woman died of measles complications, marking Pennsylvania's third death in an outbreak of 676 cases.

Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong confirmed that a 40-year-old woman died Saturday from complications associated with measles, the third death Pennsylvania officials have linked to the virus this year. In an interview with The Inquirer, Furlong said the woman was unvaccinated, developed a rash and fever several days before her death, and had been exposed to several people with confirmed and unconfirmed cases. Her death certificate lists respiratory failure due to suspected measles, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma, and lists supplemental oxygen dependence as a contributing condition. The state health department said it is conducting a thorough review of the case.

The Jefferson County coroner's office emphasized that measles should not be viewed as a harmless childhood illness, saying in a statement that it can lead to severe complications at any age, including serious respiratory illness and death in rare cases. Vaccine expert Paul Offit of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia told The Inquirer that patients with chronic respiratory conditions like COPD and asthma are at particular risk from measles, and that the woman's underlying vulnerabilities made death from the virus plausible.

Only four cases occurred in people vaccinated against measles, and 108 new cases were added in the preceding week, per reporting from CNN and the state's data. According to NPR's report, the state logged 52 new positive cases from Wednesday to Friday. Lancaster County remains the epicenter, but Jefferson County has recorded 26 cases of its own this year, according to The Inquirer. Patch reports that Chester County has 65 cases, the third-highest total outside Lancaster County's 265 and Mifflin County's 74.

The state counts three measles-associated deaths this year, but the CDC's website as of Sunday showed no 2026 U.S. deaths with measles as the underlying cause, stating that the National Center for Health Statistics has no such death records. Governor Josh Shapiro said in late August he had declined federal help offered by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., criticizing his vaccine rhetoric, and Kennedy responded on social media by suggesting the deaths might have been fabricated. According to CNN, newly confirmed CDC director Dr. Erica Schwartz said Pennsylvania had not requested a CDC Epi-Aid despite repeated offers, while Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, Kansas, New Mexico, and Wisconsin have requested that federal support.

Measles is so contagious that it can infect up to nine in ten unvaccinated people exposed to it, lingering in the air for up to two hours, The Inquirer reports, and the CDC says roughly one in five unvaccinated people who catch it are hospitalized. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are 97% effective at preventing disease. NPR notes the CDC declared measles eliminated in the U.S. in 2000 and last week reported more than 3,200 confirmed cases nationwide, with Pennsylvania and South Carolina leading the country. Patch reports this is the state's worst outbreak since 1990-1991, when a Philadelphia-centered outbreak sickened about 1,400 people.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said it is aware of the coroner's report, is conducting its own review of the case, and will provide updated information to the public when it becomes available. The department said its primary focus is stopping the spread of measles across the Commonwealth by expanding access to measles vaccination. CDC director Dr. Erica Schwartz said, according to CNN, that the agency remains ready to provide Epi-Aid support to Pennsylvania as soon as the state officially requests it. Local health officials, including in Chester County per Patch, are urging residents to get vaccinated or verify immunity through a measles titer blood test.