# A third measles death in Pennsylvania

> An unvaccinated 40-year-old woman died of measles complications as the state's case count climbs past 670.
- Title: A third measles death in Pennsylvania · PhillyVoice | Shortify
- Summary: An unvaccinated 40-year-old woman died of measles complications as the state's case count climbs past 670. Measles is not just a childhood illness. It killed…
- Keywords: measles, pennsylvania, public health, vaccines, outbreak, news, local, third, death, PhillyVoice
- Source: PhillyVoice — https://phillyvoice.com/pennsylvania-measles-deaths-jefferson-county
- Published: 2026-09-14T16:23:05.072+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: measles, pennsylvania, public health, vaccines, outbreak, news, local
## A third death in Pennsylvania
A 40-year-old woman in Jefferson County died Saturday from measles complications, the county coroner's office said. It is the third measles-associated death reported in the state.
## What the death certificate says
A preliminary certificate listed respiratory failure from "suspected measles," along with COPD and asthma. Coroner Greg Furlong plans to upgrade that to "probable" after meeting the woman's family.
## Unvaccinated, and exposed next door
The woman had not been vaccinated. She had recently been in contact with a neighbor who had a laboratory-confirmed case of measles.
## Not just a kids' disease
The county's chief deputy coroner used the death to push back on a common assumption about who measles actually hurts.

> Many people associate measles with a childhood illness, but it can lead to severe complications in individuals of any age.
## 676 cases and climbing
As of Friday, Pennsylvania had confirmed 676 measles cases and 124 hospitalizations. Lancaster County alone accounts for 295 of them.
## Where the cases are
Jefferson County, about 50 miles from Pittsburgh, has 26 cases. Southeastern Pennsylvania has 68, with 65 in Chester County and three in Montgomery County.
## The state's count says two
The health department lists only two measles-associated deaths, and Pennsylvania has been at the center of a fight over how those deaths get counted.
## The Lancaster County infants
A 6-week-old girl with Amish lethal microcephaly died of measles, the coroner found. The genetic defect had left her vulnerable to infection.
## The second infant case
A newborn boy died of a ruptured spleen. The coroner ruled measles did not cause it, but listed it on the certificate as a significant condition at the time of death.
## How the state defines it
A death counts if it happens within 30 days of symptom onset in a lab-confirmed case and is not from an unrelated cause like a car crash. Exposure history and medical records factor in too.
## Two jobs, two answers
Epidemiologist Katrine Wallace argues the numbers are not in conflict. Coroners make legal findings case by case. State health departments track disease to contain outbreaks.
## The CDC counts zero
The agency lists no US measles deaths this year, saying the National Center for Health Statistics has no 2026 records naming measles as the underlying cause.

> does not currently have any death records from 2026 that indicate measles is the underlying cause
## Shapiro versus Kennedy
Gov. Josh Shapiro accused HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of spreading measles misinformation. Kennedy repeated a debunked claim about the MMR vaccine and accused Shapiro of fabricating the deaths.
## Key takeaway

Measles is not just a childhood illness. It killed an unvaccinated adult in Pennsylvania, and the state's outbreak is still growing.