A 40-year-old unvaccinated woman from Jefferson County in western Pennsylvania died on Saturday from complications associated with measles. According to the coroner, the woman had underlying health conditions.
This death marks the third measles-associated fatality in the state's ongoing outbreak. Two previous deaths occurred in August involving infants; one child was born with a genetic defect that made her vulnerable to infection, and the second died of a ruptured spleen.
The disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but the country is currently experiencing its worst resurgence of the highly contagious disease in 35 years. This latest fatality was reported just days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to include two other measles deaths in the state in its 2026 outbreak count.