39-Year-Old Unvaccinated Woman Dies from Measles in Pennsylvania, Marking Sixth Death

A 39-year-old woman from Franklin County, Pennsylvania, who was unvaccinated, has tragically become the sixth reported death linked to a measles outbreak that has affected over a thousand individuals statewide since its onset in April. This unfortunate event occurred on October 10, as stated in a social media advisory from Coroner Jordan Conner.

The coroner’s advisory indicated that the woman had multiple underlying health issues and had recently tested positive for measles. Her death aligns with the criteria for a measles-related fatality as outlined by the state’s health department.

According to an email statement provided to The Washington Post, the coroner’s office noted that the primary cause of death was categorized as a “probable acute cardiac event due to possible complications of the measles.”

Prior to this incident, five other fatalities had been documented during the outbreak, including those of a newborn, a 6-week-old infant, an 18-year-old, a 20-year-old, and a 40-year-old—all of whom were unvaccinated. The two infants were not yet old enough to receive vaccinations.

As per the latest information from Pennsylvania’s health department, there have been 1,136 cases of measles reported in the state since the beginning of the year, with 1,124 attributed to the current outbreak. Hospitalizations have reached 218 individuals, and the outbreak, which now spans 41 of the state’s 67 counties, continues to escalate, with 157 new cases reported just in the past week.