Overview
- The Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced Thursday that an infant from Grant County died and the coroner listed measles as the immediate cause of death.
- State officials said this is Wisconsin’s first measles-associated death since 1990 and that the fatality is linked to a large southwest Wisconsin outbreak.
- Wisconsin has reported about 431 to 444 cases across 13 counties this year, more than 99 percent of cases were unvaccinated and nine people required hospitalization.
- The state has delivered 2,000 MMR doses to local health departments and providers have administered more than 42,000 doses since August, and officials are recommending early MMR shots for some infants aged 6 to 11 months in affected areas.
- Nationally, measles cases are at multi-decade highs with CDC totals above roughly 4,800 cases and a gap between state-reported deaths and the CDC’s confirmed count that could affect the U.S. elimination review by regional health authorities.