US marks worst measles year since 1991 with 3,887 cases nationwide
Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak has crossed 1,000 confirmed cases, the state health department said Monday, making it the largest such outbreak the state has recorded in more than three decades. The department reported 1,004 cases, 198 hospitalizations and five deaths statewide, with Lancaster County — home to large Amish and Mennonite communities — accounting for 391 of those infections. State data show the highest infection rates among adults aged 24 to 49. Pennsylvania health officials have said the current outbreak began in April, west of Philadelphia, and have attributed its spread to low vaccination rates.
The outbreak has placed the Shapiro administration at odds with the federal government over how to classify measles-related mortality. Shapiro has publicly clashed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., calling him “incompetent.” Kennedy has publicly questioned whether the deaths Pennsylvania has recorded were directly caused by measles. The CDC’s current count lists two measles deaths in the United States this year; Pennsylvania’s totals are not included in the federal tally.
Shapiro has expanded state access to the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in affected communities. In a statement in August, he urged residents to take the outbreak seriously. “I want every Pennsylvanian to know this: measles does not care about your county, your faith, or your social circle,” Shapiro said. “I urge everyone to take this seriously and to discuss any concerns with their trusted health care provider.”
Beyond Pennsylvania, neighboring states are also seeing rising case counts. New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Monday, citing 108 cases statewide as of October 3. Ohio, which shares a border with Pennsylvania and also has a significant Amish population, has reported more than 200 cases this year. Outbreaks have additionally been reported in Texas and Utah, as well as South Carolina, which has reported the largest outbreak outside Pennsylvania, with 997 cases recorded.
The national picture is the worst in more than three decades. As of October 1, the CDC reported 3,887 confirmed cases across the country, the highest annual total since 1991 and the highest number of measles-associated deaths in decades. According to the Associated Press, the most recent state outbreak to surpass 1,000 cases was in New York City in the early 1990s, when more than 4,500 people were infected. The 1989 and 1991 resurgences together recorded 55,000 infections and 123 deaths, according to Reuters.
The domestic spread of measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000, after sustained high vaccination rates interrupted year-round transmission. Those rates have since fallen below the 95% coverage threshold needed to prevent outbreaks. In November, international health officials are scheduled to meet to determine whether the United States and Mexico have lost their measles-free status.