The United States has logged a third measles-related death this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Tuesday, October 20, as confirmed cases reached 4,410 nationwide as of October 15 — the country's worst measles outbreak in decades, Reuters reported. The CDC had reported two deaths in September; the new toll matches last year's total of three.

Source: Reuters

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told Reuters that the National Center for Health Statistics received a report of a measles-related death and verified the disease was the underlying cause. The CDC did not name the states where the deaths occurred, and its database does not say when or where the latest death happened, Becker's Hospital Review reported.

Source: Becker's Hospital Review

Pennsylvania is the hardest-hit state — and its count differs

Pennsylvania has logged 1,286 cases, the most of any state, and state authorities count five confirmed measles-associated deaths as of October 19 — all in unvaccinated people — which is higher than the federal toll, Reuters reported. The gap follows a change in method: the CDC now tracks measles deaths through national mortality data rather than relying on state health departments' figures. Last week the CDC agreed to send additional support to Pennsylvania to help investigate the outbreak, and officials there are reviewing one further death reported by the Franklin County coroner.

Source: Reuters

Pennsylvania's Department of Health issued an advisory on October 19 warning doctors about congenital measles — an infection passed from mother to baby before birth — identified in the state for the first time in decades, Becker's reported. The department has recorded 66 measles cases in pregnant women since April. About one-third of babies born to mothers whose measles rash began within 14 days of delivery develop congenital measles, according to the advisory cited by CIDRAP and summarised by KFF Health News.

Source: KFF Health News / CIDRAP

The advisory reminds clinicians that the MMR vaccine should not be given during pregnancy and that women should avoid pregnancy for 28 days afterwards; non-immune pregnant women exposed to measles should receive immunoglobulin within six days, and newborns of mothers who had measles in pregnancy should be isolated, tested and monitored for delayed complications, Becker's reported.

Source: Becker's Hospital Review

"We should not have any measles deaths in the United States," William Moss, an epidemiology professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told Reuters, noting measles was declared eliminated in the country in 2000. He called for stronger federal efforts to raise vaccination in vulnerable communities and tackle misinformation. Nationally, the CDC counts 42 outbreaks this year, with 96% of cases linked to an outbreak and cases reported by 47 jurisdictions, Becker's reported.

Source: Reuters