Pennsylvania reports fourth measles death in 2026, worst US year since 1992

CDC excludes Pennsylvania deaths from national tally under new reporting

Pennsylvania’s health secretary, Dr. Debra Bogen, announced Tuesday that a fourth person has died of measles-associated illness in the United States in 2026, making it the worst year for the disease in the country since 1992. All four US measles deaths this year have occurred in Pennsylvania.

The most recent victim was an 18-year-old Mifflin County resident diagnosed with encephalomyelitis, a rare and severe neurological complication of the virus. Bogen announced the death in a statement, saying: “My thoughts are with the two families who lost loved ones to this highly-contagious virus, as Pennsylvania faces the worst measles outbreak in more than three decades.”

“We remain committed to working with our partners across Pennsylvania to stem this outbreak and prevent more deaths,” Bogen said. “That means ensuring people have the facts about measles and access to the [measles, mumps and rubella] vaccine — which kept measles outbreaks at bay for decades.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not include any of the four deaths in its national tally because the Trump administration changed how measles deaths are reported. Three people died of measles in 2025.

Pennsylvania has reported nearly 700 cases of measles, with the state’s agricultural areas in Lancaster and Mifflin counties serving as the center of the outbreak. Utah, Florida, Virginia and Texas have also seen dozens of cases, according to tracking from Johns Hopkins University. The United States has recorded more than 3,300 cases in 2026, though epidemiological data is generally considered an undercount.

One to three people per 1,000 infected with measles die of related complications such as pneumonia and neurologic complications. Up to one in five people infected with the disease will be hospitalized.

The measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or MMR, prevents 97% of measles cases, according to public health data. Vaccination rates among kindergarten-aged children — considered a bellwether for community immunity — have experienced a slow decline, with public health experts cited by The Guardian arguing the administration’s messaging has spread confusion among parents.

The Guardian, reporting on the health secretary’s tenure, said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the US health secretary, previously headed “an anti-vaccine advocacy group” before taking office and “has upended federal vaccine policy and made multiple misleading statements about the MMR vaccine since taking office.”

The United States eliminated measles in 2000, though it is unclear whether it can retain that status amid the recent outbreaks. Globally, measles remains the leading cause of vaccine-preventable infant death.