Six-week-old infant dies of measles in Pennsylvania

Lancaster County coroner Stephen Diamantoni has confirmed to multiple news outlets that a six-week-old child died from measles. The infant had a rare genetic condition known as Amish lethal microcephaly, which typically limits life expectancy to five or six months and increases vulnerability to respiratory infections. State health officials have not yet confirmed whether this case is one of two measles-associated deaths previously announced last week.

The first of those earlier deaths occurred on 14 August, involving a newborn whose mother had measles and passed the virus to the child. The coroner in that case told a local outlet that the immediate cause of death was a ruptured spleen, though measles was listed on the death certificate. According to reports, the parents believe measles was responsible for their baby's death.

Outbreak keeps growing

Pennsylvania has now recorded nearly 400 measles cases across 28 counties, with almost half concentrated in southern Lancaster County. Most confirmed cases involve adults aged 18 to 49, though official counts are generally considered an undercount of the true total.

Last week, Governor Josh Shapiro and state health secretary Debra Bogen announced the two earlier Lancaster County deaths as "measles-associated," without providing further details out of respect for the families' privacy.

Political dispute

The deaths have deepened a rift between Shapiro and federal health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a longtime vaccine skeptic. Shapiro has accused Kennedy of spreading misinformation that has hampered outbreak response, while Kennedy has accused Democrats of exaggerating the deaths for political gain. As of this week, US health authorities had not included the two earlier deaths in official tallies. Former CDC officials have criticized both sides for turning the outbreak into a political dispute, arguing that vaccination remains the only effective protection for children.