Overview
- The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported two measles-associated deaths on Aug. 25 and still classifies them as linked to measles while the CDC has removed those deaths from its national count pending further review.
- One fatality was a newborn who tested positive for measles and died of a ruptured spleen, a finding the Lancaster County coroner says was not caused by measles, and officials have released few details about the second child’s death.
- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly questioned the state’s announcement and suggested the reports may have been fabricated, a dispute that preceded the CDC’s unusual decision to exclude the deaths.
- Public-health experts warn the CDC’s move breaks precedent of deferring to state death determinations and could weaken cooperation at a time when Pennsylvania has nearly 500 confirmed cases and the U.S. has thousands of measles infections.
- Medical researchers note measles can cause ‘immune amnesia’ that raises risk of later infections, which means official death certificates may undercount measles’ broader toll and investigators will be watching whether federal review changes the national statistics.