BETHLEHEM, Pa. — St. Luke’s University Health Network is treating a child for measles, the network said Monday, in what it called its first case in the Lehigh Valley in recent memory.
St. Luke’s announced the case in a news advisory and a video statement released Monday from Dr. Jennifer Janco, chair of its pediatrics department. The advisory did not include the patient’s age, hometown or condition.
The case lands as Pennsylvania’s outbreak accelerates. The state Department of Health’s measles dashboard, updated Monday, lists 176 confirmed cases in 2026, including 35 in the past seven days. Thirty-three patients have been hospitalized, about 19 percent of cases. No one has died, and none of the 176 were fully vaccinated.
Where the Valley stands
The dashboard lists two Lehigh County cases so far this year and none in Northampton County. Those counts are by county of residence, not where a patient was exposed or treated, and the dashboard does not identify treating hospitals.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s online dashboard shows 176 total measles cases across the state as of Aug. 3, 2026. The updated numbers come as Bethlehem-based St. Luke’s University Health Network reports its first Lehigh Valley case.
St. Luke’s did not say where its patient lives or when the case was confirmed. Allentown and Bethlehem operate their own health bureaus, whose counts can differ from the state’s.
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The outbreak’s center sits 60 to 70 miles southwest of Allentown. Lancaster County has 104 cases, with 20 each in Chester and Lebanon — together 82 percent of the state total. The nearest activity to the Valley is in neighboring Berks County, with four.
Cases jumped from 25 in May to 48 in June and 86 in July, nearly half the year’s total. Two have been reported in August through Monday. Adults ages 25 to 49 are the largest group with 64 cases; 38 percent of patients are under 18, including 19 children under 5.
What St. Luke’s is telling families
Janco said measles ranks among the most contagious diseases known and can spread without contact with a sick person.
“You only need to be around the airspace, not the person, and it can linger in the air,” she said.
The virus can hang in the air up to two hours after an infected person leaves, according to the state, and patients are contagious from four days before a rash appears through four days after.
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Symptoms surface seven to 21 days after exposure and include fever that can top 104 degrees, cough, runny nose, red eyes and rash. There is no antiviral treatment.
Janco said nine out of 10 unprotected people who are exposed will catch it, consistent with federal estimates, and that measles can cause brain swelling and lung damage severe enough to require hospitalization.
“If you survive measles now, it doesn’t mean that you’re out of the woods,” she said. “It can absolutely cause a lifetime of complications.”
Two MMR doses offer the best protection, the health department says. Janco urged parents of unvaccinated children to call a pediatrician — and said some adults should check their records too.
People vaccinated between 1963 and 1967 may have received a killed-virus version the CDC says was ineffective and recommends replacing. Anyone vaccinated before 1991 may have gotten only one dose, she said; the CDC dates the two-dose schedule to 1989. Those born before 1957 are presumed immune.
Department staff has given 2,076 MMR doses this year, peaking at 679 in June. Nationally, the CDC counted 2,371 cases as of July 30, more than in all of 2025.
Providers should report suspected cases to the state at 877-724-3258.
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