Unvaccinated 39-Year-Old Woman Dies as Pennsylvania Reports Sixth Measles Death in Outbreak

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A 39-year-old unvaccinated woman in Franklin County has died, becoming the sixth measles-associated death in Pennsylvania this year as the state's outbreak surpassed 1,100 cases.

The woman died on Oct. 10. She had several underlying health conditions and had recently tested positive for measles, according to an advisory posted by Franklin County Coroner Jordan Conner. The coroner's office said the death meets the Pennsylvania Department of Health's definition of a measles-associated death.

"This is the first death in Franklin County in many years with a patient with a recent history of a measles diagnosis and meets the definition set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for a measles-associated death," the office said. In an emailed statement, it listed the primary cause of death as "probable acute cardiac event due to possible complications of the measles."

The office said it would not release additional details that could identify the woman, citing privacy. It confirmed she was not vaccinated against measles. The other five people who died in the outbreak were also unvaccinated. Two were infants too young to receive the vaccine.

As of the state health department's update on Oct. 9, Pennsylvania had recorded 1,136 confirmed cases in 2026, of which 1,124 were linked to the current outbreak that began in April. The cases span 41 of the state's 67 counties. Two hundred eighteen or 219 people had been hospitalized, depending on the exact dashboard figure used that day. One hundred fifty-seven new cases were reported in the previous week. More than 99 percent of the cases were in unvaccinated people. Only four cases were in vaccinated individuals.

The previous five deaths included a newborn, a 6-week-old, an 18-year-old, a 20-year-old with leukemia who was undergoing chemotherapy, and a 40-year-old with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Three of the deaths occurred in Lancaster County. Mifflin County and Jefferson County each reported one. The 18-year-old developed disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare neurologic complication.

The state defines a measles-associated death as one occurring within 30 days of symptom onset in a person who had clinical evidence of measles, a positive laboratory test, and no unrelated cause of death. The classification does not mean measles was the sole cause. The Franklin County case is the first such death reported in that county in many years. The county had seven confirmed cases as of the latest update.

A spokesperson for the state health department said it was aware of the new death and was reviewing the case. It will provide an update once the review is complete. The department has urged residents who are not vaccinated to receive the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Two doses are about 97 percent effective at preventing measles. The state has administered more than 5,900 doses at 201 pop-up clinics since the outbreak began and reported more than 56,000 doses given in September, more than twice the usual monthly volume.

Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 4,080 measles cases so far this year, the highest total since 1991. Pennsylvania accounts for more than a quarter of them. About 95 percent of U.S. cases are in unvaccinated people or people of unknown vaccination status. The CDC has included only two of the Pennsylvania deaths in its national tally. Pennsylvania officials have noted the discrepancy. The U.S. is expected to lose its measles elimination status, earned in 2000, when experts from the Pan American Health Organization review the data in November. Elimination requires the absence of continuous transmission for 12 months.

The outbreak has been unusual in its age distribution. About two-thirds of Pennsylvania's cases have been in adults, contrary to the national pattern in which children and teenagers account for most infections. The largest age group in the state has been 18 to 24. Lancaster County has reported the most cases, more than 400, followed by Mifflin County with about 167.

Measles typically kills one to three people per 1,000 infections. The six deaths in Pennsylvania, against a reported case count just over 1,100, suggest the true number of infections is larger than the confirmed total, infectious-disease specialists have said. Many mild cases go untested and unreported.

The Franklin County coroner's office said it investigated the death on Saturday and would release no further identifying information. "Our office is bound by laws that limit what can be shared publicly, and families deserve the dignity to mourn in private," it said. It also urged medical providers, first responders and the public to follow precautions issued by the state health department and the CDC.

No other state has reported a measles outbreak of this size since the early 1990s. The last time the U.S. recorded more than 4,000 cases in a year was 1991. Prior to 2025, the country had not reported a measles death since 2015. Three deaths were recorded nationwide in 2025. The current Pennsylvania outbreak is the first in the United States to exceed 1,000 cases since then.

The vaccine is available at no cost through the state's pop-up clinics in affected communities. Health officials continue to recommend two doses for people who are not fully vaccinated and who have no contraindication. Infants younger than six months are too young for the vaccine and depend on community immunity and maternal antibodies for protection. Both of the infants who died in Pennsylvania were in that age group.

The state health department's next dashboard update will show whether the case count and hospitalization total continue to rise at the recent pace of more than 100 new cases a week. The coroner's classification of the Franklin County death is already on the record. The state's formal review of whether to add it to the official measles-associated death total is still underway.