September 14, 2026
Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
An unvaccinated woman in Jefferson County died of measles complications, the county coroner says. Above, a file photo of a measles vaccine.
A third measles-associated death was reported in Pennsylvania over the weekend as measles cases continued to increase.
A Jefferson County woman, 40, died Saturday from measles complications, the county coroner's office said in a news release.
A preliminary death certificate states the woman's cause of death was respiratory failure caused by "suspected measles," chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, the Washington Post reported. But Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong told the newspaper that he plans to change the distinction to "probable" after meeting with the woman's family. That designation signifies there is more evidence linking measles to the death.
The woman was unvaccinated and recently had contact with a neighbor who had had a laboratory-confirmed case of measles, Furlong told the Post.
"Many people associate measles with a childhood illness, but it can lead to severe complications in individuals of any age," Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Jason Stiver said in a news release. "Measles is highly contagious and can result in serious respiratory illness, hospitalization, and in rare cases like this, death. We encourage residents to stay informed, follow guidance from public health officials, and take appropriate steps to protect themselves and their families."
As of Friday, the Pennsylvania Department of Health had confirmed 676 measles cases and 124 hospitalizations in the state. Lancaster County accounted for 295 cases. Jefferson County, about 50 miles from Pittsburgh, had 26 cases. Southeastern Pennsylvania had 68 cases — 65 in Chester County and three in Montgomery County.
The state health department also listed two measles-associated deaths, but Pennsylvania has been at the center of a controversy about how it reports measles-associated deaths.
Those two deaths involved infants in Lancaster County. The county coroner found that a 6-week-old girl with a genetic defect called Amish lethal microcephaly had died from measles. The genetic defect left her vulnerable to infection, the coroner said.
The other infant, a boy, died just after birth due to a ruptured spleen. Though the infant had measles and the disease is known to cause the spleen to enlarge, the coroner determined that measles did not contribute to the ruptured spleen. Measles was listed as a contributing factor on the boy's death certificate because it was considered a "significant condition" at the time of death, the coroner said.
Pennsylvania defines measles-associated deaths as those that occur within 30 days of the onset of symptoms of a lab-confirmed case of measles and are not due to unrelated causes such as a car crash. The state also considers whether the person was exposed to measles and takes other medical records into consideration.
In a story for The Conversation and republished by PhillyVoice, Katrine L. Wallace, an epidemiology and biostatistics professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, wrote that these are not competing conclusions. The cause of death decisions made by county coroners are legal findings, made on a case-by-case basis. But the role of state health departments is to oversee disease surveillance, tracking who gets sick and dies, in an attempt to contain outbreaks.
Still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not list any measles deaths in the United States this year, saying the "National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) does not currently have any death records from 2026 that indicate measles is the underlying cause."
This comes amid a public spat between Gov. Josh Shapiro and Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
During a news conference announcing the infant deaths in Lancaster County, Shapiro criticized Kennedy for pushing misinformation on measles. Kennedy responded with a social media post that included a debunked claim that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine contains fetal tissue. Shapiro then replied, claiming Kennedy's messaging has led to increased measles cases. Kennedy accused Shapiro of fabricating the deaths.
