Infant Dies of Measles in Wisconsin, the State’s First Measles Death in 36 Years

MADISON, Wis., Nov. 5 (TodayViralUSA) — An infant in southwestern Wisconsin has died of measles, the state’s first death from the disease in 36 years, health officials announced Thursday.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services withheld the child’s name, exact location and other details to protect the family’s privacy. The coroner listed measles as the cause of death.

“My heart is broken for the family,” said Kirsten Johnson, secretary of the state health department. “Any death of a child is a tragedy and even more so when it is related to a vaccine-preventable disease.”

Third measles death reported by a state this week

The Wisconsin fatality was the third measles-related death reported by a U.S. state health department in a single week, following an infant death in New York and another death in Pennsylvania, according to CIDRAP. State tallies put U.S. measles deaths this year at least at eight; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s official count stood at four as of Thursday because the agency is no longer automatically adding every state-confirmed death.

Wisconsin had reported 431 measles cases as of Nov. 3–5, up sharply from 335 two weeks earlier, with all but three cases in unvaccinated people and nine hospitalizations, state data showed. Nationally, the CDC has tallied 4,852 cases this year — already far above recent years — though both state and federal figures are likely undercounts.

Vaccine-preventable, once eliminated

The United States declared measles eliminated in 2000 after high vaccination coverage. Two doses of measles vaccine are about 97% effective. Coverage has since slipped below the roughly 95% needed to prevent outbreaks in many communities.

Measles can cause pneumonia, brain inflammation and, in rare cases, death. Among unvaccinated children, an estimated one to three of every 1,000 infected die from respiratory or neurologic complications. Public-health officials continue to urge vaccination, including early doses for infants as young as 6 months in outbreak areas when recommended by clinicians.