A Pennsylvania teenager has died from measles complications, marking the state's fourth death from the virus this year. The unvaccinated 18-year-old from Mifflin County died due to acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare and severe neurological condition associated with measles that causes inflammation in the brain, county coroner Andrea Alcalde confirmed Tuesday.
This death follows that of an unvaccinated 40-year-old woman in nearby Jefferson County who died over the weekend from similar complications. Pennsylvania has now recorded four measles-related deaths in 2026, the first such fatalities in the state in 35 years.
As of September 14, Pennsylvania has reported 693 measles cases, with 99 new cases in the last seven days. A total of 133 individuals have been hospitalized due to the virus. Data indicates that less than one percent of patients had received both doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.