A 39-year-old Franklin County woman has become the sixth person to die in connection with Pennsylvania's measles outbreak, the county coroner announced Tuesday, Oct. 13.
Franklin County Coroner Jordan F. Conner said the unvaccinated woman died Sunday, Oct. 11. She had multiple underlying medical conditions, and her primary cause of death was "a probable acute cardiac event due to possible complications of the measles," according to the coroner's office, as first reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
As we reported Saturday, the state's measles dashboard showed three confirmed cases in Montgomery County. The county's own public health website, last updated Oct. 2, listed no current cases tied to the outbreak. The discrepancy likely reflects a lag in the county's page.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health said it is reviewing the death and will update the public when its investigation is complete. The state's measles dashboard, last updated Saturday, Oct. 10, still lists five deaths. The dashboard was not updated Monday due to the Columbus Day holiday.
If confirmed, the death would mark the most measles fatalities in Pennsylvania in a single year since a 1991 outbreak in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reported.
Statewide, the outbreak has reached 1,136 confirmed cases across 41 counties, with 219 hospitalizations. Pennsylvania leads the nation in measles cases. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 4,080 confirmed cases nationally as of Oct. 8 but formally recognizes only two deaths.
"Our office is bound by laws that limit what can be shared publicly, and families deserve the dignity to mourn in private," Conner said in a statement.
The five previously confirmed deaths include two infants in Lancaster County, an 18-year-old in Mifflin County, a 40-year-old woman in Jefferson County and a 20-year-old Lancaster County woman who had been receiving treatment for leukemia. Franklin County, which has recorded seven measles cases this year, is now the fourth county to report a death.
Less than 1% of the state's measles cases have occurred in vaccinated people. The state has administered more than 5,900 MMR vaccinations at 201 pop-up clinics since the outbreak began in late April, according to WFMZ.
Montgomery County's Office of Public Health is offering free MMR, flu and COVID-19 vaccines at clinics throughout October for residents, workers and students ages 6 months and older. The next local clinic is Saturday, Oct. 24, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Montgomery County Community College Blue Bell Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike. Attendees should bring an insurance card if they have coverage, but there is no cost or co-pay. The full schedule is available at the Montgomery County immunizations page.
