PA Measles Death Toll Rises To 5

PENNSYLVANIA — The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported the death of an unvaccinated Lancaster County resident who tested positive for measles. It's the fifth measles-associated death in the state since mid-August.

The health department released no further information on the person who died.

The other measles-associated deaths in the state were two infants with measles in Lancaster County, an 18-year-old resident of Mifflin County and a 40-year-old woman in Jefferson County.

The five deaths are the first fatalities associated with the highly contagious virus in Pennsylvania in 35 years.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's measles dashboard recognizes only two deaths in the country thus far this year. The CDC says that number is subject to change as additional information becomes available and relevant reviews are completed.

The latest statistics on the health department's measles dashboard, which was updated Wednesday, show 943 confirmed measles cases in 39 of the the state's 67 counties.

Lancaster County had the most number of cases with 381.

According the CDC dashboard, last updated on Sept. 25, more measles cases have been confirmed in Pennsylvania than in any other state this year. South Carolina had the second-largest number of cases with 670.

The health department continues to remind people that the best protection against measles is being fully vaccinated. The MMR vaccine, administered over two doses, boosts a person’s immune system and provides 97 percent lifetime protection.

According to the health department, medical providers across the state have seen a surge in people seeking MMR vaccinations as the outbreak continues.

About 25,000 MMR vaccines are administered in the state every month. In August, more than 49,000 MMR vaccines were administered; that number climbed to more than 53,000 in September.