A fourth death has been linked to measles in Pennsylvania, the state Health Department said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
All four deaths have been reported in the last month as Pennsylvania\u2019s measles outbreak continues to grow. They are the first deaths associated with measles in the state in 35 years.<\/p>\n
In all of last year, the U.S. recorded three measles deaths.<\/p>\n
The Health Department said in a news release<\/a> Tuesday that the two people who died most recently were from Jefferson and Mifflin counties. Both were unvaccinated, it said. <\/p>\n The Mifflin County coroner said Tuesday<\/a> that an 18-year-old resident died \u201cdue to complications of measles,\u201d specifically a rare and severe neurological condition that causes inflammation in the brain. The Jefferson County resident was a 40-year-old woman<\/a> with asthma and severe lung disease who died Saturday, the coroner previously reported. <\/p>\n The two deaths in Lancaster County were of infants: a newborn who died shortly after birth and a 6-week-old. The county coroner has said he believes measles was only the cause of death for the 6-week-old baby<\/a>. In the case of the newborn, the coroner said he found evidence of the measles virus in the infant\u2019s lung tissue but considered the cause of death to be an internal hemorrhage and \u201ctraumatic rupture\u201d of the spleen.<\/p>\n The first dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is typically given at around 1 year, so neither infant had been eligible to receive it. Two doses offer 97% protection against measles, usually for life (the second is given at around age 5).<\/p>\n The state Health Department considers a death to be \u201cmeasles associated\u201d if there is clinical evidence of a measles infection and a positive laboratory test and if the death occurred within 30 days of symptoms\u2019 starting. It also takes into account the person\u2019s medical records and whether they were exposed to measles before they died. <\/p>\n The department said in a news release<\/a> that the two latest deaths were linked to measles after rigorous investigations involving the county coroners\u2019 offices. The two infants\u2019 deaths involved similar investigations, the department said.<\/p>\n Nearly 700 measles cases have been reported in Pennsylvania this year; 133 people have been hospitalized. State officials have tied the outbreak to falling vaccination rates. Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 3,294 measles cases, including 267 hospitalizations, as of Thursday. <\/p>\n