Schuylkill County\u2019s first measles case in more than a decade has been confirmed in an individual who was not fully vaccinated, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.<\/p>\n
The department\u2019s electronic disease records go back to 2003. Since then, there was no verified case of measles in Schuylkill County until Monday, when the state named Schuylkill as the 39th county in Pennsylvania where it has confirmed the virus.<\/p>\n
Measles had been declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, meaning it had not continuously spread for more than a year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention credited that achievement to a highly effective use of the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.<\/p>\n
Measles cases have been rising in the U.S. in since early 2025, though, which health officials attribute to a recent drop in MMR vaccination rates.<\/p>\n
So far in 2026 there have been 792 measles cases in Pennsylvania, with that number recently growing by about 100 per week, according to the state Department of Health. Each of the counties that border Schuylkill is among those with measles cases.<\/p>\n
A total of 155 of those patients required hospitalization, and there have also been four measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania since late August, the first deaths caused by the virus in the state in 35 years, state officials said.<\/p>\n
The CDC, however, has different criteria for tallying measles deaths, and has not included Pennsylvania\u2019s four fatalities in its national count.<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania does not provide more details on individuals with measles, such as the municipality where they live, their age or their sex, in order to protect their privacy, so further information on the Schuylkill case was not available.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Department of Health is proactively working with residents, community organizations and healthcare providers to combat the measles outbreak through access to fact-based information and access to the MMR vaccine,\u201d said Stephanie Nojiri, deputy press secretary for the department.<\/p>\n
The vaccine is the best guard against measles, providing 97% lifetime protection after two doses, she said. Children typically receive their first shot between 12 and 15 months, and their second before starting kindergarten.<\/p>\n
The vaccine has been proven safe for about 60 years, state health officials said.<\/p>\n
While hospital systems in the region have treated some measles cases in recent months, they expect that those cases will likely increase as the virus keeps spreading in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n