Sept 16 (Reuters) – The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported 731 measles cases, up 38 from Monday’s update, as the outbreak continued to spread in the state at the center of the nation’s worst measles resurgence in decades.
Here are some details:
• The state health department also confirmed 141 hospitalized measles patients in the update.
• Lancaster County continued to bear the brunt of Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak, remaining the state’s worst-affected county as officials stepped up immunization campaigns and public health outreach.
• The figures were released a day after the health department reported four measles-related deaths among unvaccinated individuals, marking fresh fatalities in one of the most significant public health crises the country has seen from measles.
• The Pennsylvania health department said last month that two residents died of measles, setting off a dispute between Governor Josh Shapiro and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has said that only one of the deaths was directly linked to the infection.
• In 2026, the U.S. has had 3,294 confirmed measles cases through September 10, according to CDC data.
• The CDC currently does not include the 2026 deaths in its measles tally, and its website says it is reevaluating how it classifies measles deaths.
• Measles, a highly contagious viral disease that can cause fever, rash and respiratory complications, is easily preventable with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or MMR, a routine childhood immunization that is 97% effective after two doses.
(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
