Aug 28 (Reuters) – Pennsylvania’s health department said on Friday the confirmed number of cases linked to a measles outbreak has reached 460 this year, an increase of 36 over its update two days ago.
Two Pennsylvania residents have died after contracting the highly contagious disease — the first such deaths reported in the United States in 2026 — as cases reach their highest level in more than three decades.
• The measles cases, spread across 31 counties, include 83 hospitalizations, the department said.
• The southeastern Lancaster county is the worst-affected, with 210 cases. None of the infections were in fully vaccinated people.
• Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the Pennsylvania Governor’s office has not provided relevant information and has declined offers of assistance.
• The governor declined assistance from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., citing concerns that his actions were hurting communities.
• Kennedy has argued for decades that the MMR shot and other vaccines are linked to an increased risk of autism — a theory that scientists say has been thoroughly refuted by studies examining millions of children over years.
• “The MMR vaccine provides the most effective protection against measles and helps prevent its spread,” said U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Emily Hilliard.
• The CDC has recorded over 2,700 measles cases in 2026 — the most since the major resurgence between 1989 and 1991, when 55,000 infections and 123 deaths were recorded.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
