Wisconsin reports its first measles death in decades, the third in the U.S. this week

An infant in Wisconsin has died of measles, the state health department said Thursday — the third measles-related death reported in the U.S. this week.

It’s Wisconsin’s first measles-related death since 1990, the health department said, adding that a coroner had listed measles as the infant’s immediate cause of death.

The news came just one day after Pennsylvania’s health department reported a measles-associated death there — the state’s sixth this year. The department said Wednesday that an unvaccinated resident in Jefferson County who tested positive for measles had died.

Two days before that, New York health officials announced that a child in Lewis County had died of measles. Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency over measles in early October.

In total, the U.S. has recorded eight measles-associated deaths this year, according to state health department data. It’s the highest measles death toll in the country since 1991.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed four of those deaths. The agency says it will update its count “as additional information becomes available and relevant reviews are completed.”

None of the eight people who have died were vaccinated, according to state health departments; some were ineligible because of…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health