An infant in Wisconsin has died in connection with an large, ongoing measles outbreak, the state health department said Thursday. The death marks the state’s first measles-related death in more than 35 years and the third reported in the US this week.
“My heart is broken for the family,” said Kirsten Johnson, secretary of the state’s health department. “Any death of a child is a tragedy and even more so when it is related to a vaccine-preventable disease. Measles can cause serious illness and death, and it is important for all Wisconsinites to evaluate their risk and take steps to protect themselves and their family.”
The health department said the coroner listed the immediate cause of death as measles. To protect the family’s privacy, the department will not release any additional details about the child, officials said.
Wisconsin is experiencing its largest measles outbreak in more than three decades. As of Thursday, Wisconsin has recorded 431 cases in 13 counties this year. The state’s health department cautions that the true number may be higher because not everyone who gets sick seeks medical care.
Nine people in Wisconsin have been hospitalized. While anyone with measles can develop life-threatening complications such as pneumonia or swelling of the brain, children younger than 5, people with weak immune systems and people who are pregnant face a higher risk of severe disease.
The state is encouraging everyone who hasn’t been vaccinated to receive a measles vaccine. Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are 97% effective at preventing measles.
Until last year, there had been no measles deaths the US in decades. Three measles-related deaths have already been reported this week.
In Pennsylvania, an unvaccinated resident of rural Jefferson County, in the north-central part of the state, died after testing positive for measles, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said on Wednesday. It was the sixth person in Pennsylvania to die from measles this year.
Child in New York dies after contracting measles, the state’s first such death in 30 years
On Monday, the New York State Department of Health announced that a child had died after contracting measles. The child lived in rural Lewis County, in the northern part of the state. The child’s death marked New York’s first in 30 years .
More than 4,800 measles cases have been reported across the US this year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the most since 1991, almost a decade before measles was declared eliminated in the US.
An international meeting to determine the status of measles elimination in the United States is scheduled to take place next week.
