Pennsylvania Measles Outbreak Tops 900 Cases as Hospitalizations Climb in Worst Resurgence in Decades
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania's measles outbreak continued to grow on Monday, with the state reporting 68 new infections since last Wednesday, pushing the total past 900 cases as officials struggle to contain the state's worst measles resurgence in decades.
Data released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health showed 903 confirmed cases, with 176 patients hospitalized, up from 164 hospitalizations reported on Sept. 23.
Lancaster County, home to a large Amish population, remains the hardest-hit area in the state. The outbreak has also spread through other largely unvaccinated Amish communities in central Pennsylvania, including the area around Belleville in Mifflin County.
Pennsylvania has reported four measles-related deaths this year, all among unvaccinated residents. It is the most measles deaths reported in the United States in a single year since 1992.
The first two deaths, reported in August, were infants in Lancaster County. Lancaster County Coroner Stephen Diamantoni, a physician, said one of the infants, a newborn, tested positive for measles but died of a ruptured spleen. He later said the second death, of a 6-week-old Amish girl, was a direct result of measles.
In September, the state reported two more deaths, both in unvaccinated adults. An 18-year-old in Mifflin County died from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare neurological condition that can occur after an infection, according to county coroner Andrea Alcalde. The Jefferson County coroner reported the death of a 40-year-old woman.
The deaths were the first measles-related fatalities in........
