By admin 
Pennsylvania has reported a fourth death related to measles, the latest in a growing outbreak.
Read more Judge blocks latest bid to add Trump’s name to Kennedy Center
It has been decades since the United States has tallied four measles deaths; 1992 was the last time there were four measles deaths in one year. Last year, there were three US deaths from measles – two in Texas and one in New Mexico.
The latest death in Pennsylvania was an unvaccinated person who lived in Mifflin County. Previously, the state reported two deaths in infants who had measles. Over the weekend, the Jefferson County coroner reported the death of a 40-year-old woman.
“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,” Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen said in a statement Tuesday. “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.”
So far, Pennsylvania has counted 693 measles cases in 28 counties this year.
Adult woman dies of measles complications in growing Pennsylvania outbreak
Measles typically causes about one in five people who aren’t vaccinated to be hospitalized, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As many as one out of every 20 children with measles gets pneumonia, the most common cause of death from measles in young children. One of every 1,000 kids with measles will develop encephalitis, or brain swelling.
The virus kills one to three of every 1,000 children who become infected. Nationally, more than 3,200 measles cases have been reported, according to the CDC.
The MMR vaccine is the best way to protect against measles, the CDC says. Two doses provide 97% protection against measles. Approved since 1963, the vaccine is very safe, and side effects are usually mild and go away on their own, the agency says.
Read more KFile: GOP nominee in Michigan swing seat deleted posts implying executions for Trump opponents
The deaths in Pennsylvania sparked a political clash over how deaths are counted. So far, the CDC has not counted any measles deaths in 2026.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said in late August when the state announced the first two measles-associated deaths that he’d declined an offer from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, for federal help. He then said he’d told the secretary that his “actions and his rhetoric,” including spreading misinformation about vaccines, was harming communities.
Kennedy, an outspoken vaccine skeptic, shot back on social media, accusing Shapiro of fearmongering and the “weaponization of infectious disease” for political gain. He suggested the deaths may have been “altogether fabricated” by one of Shapiro’s “hopeful staffers” to support a narrative that measles infection is more dangerous than it actually is.
The two deaths in Lancaster County were in infants, the county coroner there said, but his office disputed whether one of the deaths was caused by measles. A newborn died of a ruptured spleen, which the coroner, Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, said his forensic pathologist deemed wasn’t caused by the viral illness.
A second death, in a six-week-old infant with a serious genetic condition called Amish lethal microcephaly, was caused by measles, Diamantoni told CNN.
Read more Median US income rises to highest on record even as Americans feel affordability pinch
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
CNN’s Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.