Pennsylvania Reports 6th Measles Death After 21-Year-Old Unvaccinated Woman Dies Postpartum
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 4
Pennsylvania Reports 6th Measles Death After 21-Year-Old Unvaccinated Woman Dies Postpartum
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Nov 4
Summary
A 21-year-old Amish woman from Jefferson County died Sept. 30 after a home birth complication and measles infection, becoming Pennsylvania’s sixth measles-associated death reported this year.
Her death certificate listed multisystem organ failure, postpartum hemorrhage, acute liver failure and suspected measles; the baby survived and is being cared for by family.
The case has sharpened concern about measles during pregnancy after Pennsylvania said last month that 77 pregnant women had been infected since the outbreak began in late April.
Pennsylvania has recorded 1,467 cases across 45 counties, and federal officials have sent $4 million and a CDC investigator as the state confronts the nation’s largest outbreak.
The death also highlights confusion in national tracking: CDC lists four U.S. measles deaths for 2026, while Pennsylvania alone has confirmed six and New York has confirmed one.