39-year-old unvaccinated woman becomes 6th measles death in Pennsylvania
As of Friday, state health officials reported 1,136 cases across 41 counties.
As of Friday, state health officials reported 1,136 cases across 41 counties.
The short version
- A 39-year-old unvaccinated woman in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, has become the sixth person to die of the highly infectious virus amid a state outbreak that has stricken over a thousand people since it began in April.
- The woman died on Saturday, October 10.
- She had several underlying health conditions and had recently tested positive for measles, according to an advisory posted on social media by Franklin County Coroner Jordan Conner.
What happened
The advisory noted that the woman’s death meets the definition of a measles death set by the state’s health department. All the deceased were unvaccinated; the two infants were too young to have been vaccinated.
Why it matters
As of the latest measles update from Pennsylvania’s health department on Friday, October 9, there have been 1,136 cases in the state since the start of the year—1,124 of which are from the current outbreak.
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