The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed two more measles-associated deaths Tuesday, bringing the state’s total to four this year in an outbreak officials say is the worst Pennsylvania has seen in more than three decades.
The department said one death occurred in Jefferson County and the other in Mifflin County. Both people were unvaccinated. The Lehigh Daily, based in Bethlehem, is tracking the outbreak’s numbers as they change day to day.
“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 the department’s statement. “We remain committed to working with our partners across Pennsylvania to stem this outbreak and prevent more deaths.”
The Jefferson County resident was a 40-year-old woman who died Sept. 13, according to Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong, who called the death “measles-related” in a Facebook post. The county, about 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, had not previously reported a measles death this year.
The Mifflin County resident was an 18-year-old who died of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare and severe inflammation of the brain and spinal cord that can follow a measles infection, according to the county coroner’s office.
The department said it will not release further identifying details about either person, citing privacy laws that limit what state officials can disclose, though local coroners may share more.
So far in 2026, the department has confirmed 693 measles cases across 38 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, with roughly one in five people diagnosed requiring hospitalization. The outbreak, which began in late April, had produced two earlier deaths — both infants in Lancaster County, announced Aug. 25 — before this week’s two additional cases.
To determine whether a death qualifies as measles-associated, the department said it conducts investigations confirming clinical evidence of infection, a positive lab test, and that the death was not attributable to an unrelated cause, in cooperation with county coroners.
That classification has put Pennsylvania at odds with federal health officials. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed the state’s first two reported deaths from its national tally, with CDC Director Erica Schwartz saying “available information does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths.” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. went further, suggesting on social media the August announcement “may even have been altogether fabricated by one of the Governor’s hopeful staffers.”
Bogen has disputed that characterization, saying her department’s epidemiologists thoroughly investigated both cases and had been in regular contact with CDC’s professional staff. Gov. Josh Shapiro has separately urged Pennsylvanians not to be swayed by the dispute, saying on social media that the illness “is completely preventable.”
State health officials say the MMR vaccine remains 97% effective at preventing measles after two doses, and fewer than 1% of this year’s cases have occurred in vaccinated individuals. The department has run more than 100 pop-up vaccination clinics in affected communities since the outbreak began.
Anyone who believes they were exposed to measles and is experiencing symptoms — which begin with fever, cough, and red, watery eyes before a rash spreads from the head downward — should contact a health care provider or call the department’s hotline at 877-PA-HEALTH (877-724-3258).
Nationally, the CDC has recorded more than 3,000 measles cases in 2026, the highest annual count in decades.