A Pennsylvania woman has died from complications associated with measles, marking the third virus-related death in the state this year. The 40-year-old resident of Jefferson County, located northeast of Pittsburgh, died on Saturday, according to Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong.
Furlong described the death as “measles-related” in a Facebook post, calling it a “heartbreaking loss for the family and an unfortunate reminder that measles can be a serious and potentially life-threatening disease.” The post did not specify whether the woman was vaccinated against measles.
The two previous measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania occurred in August and involved infants. The Lancaster County Coroner reported that one infant boy died shortly after birth due to a ruptured spleen, with measles listed as a “significant condition” at the time of death, though not the direct cause of the rupture. The other infant, a 6-week-old girl with a genetic condition called Amish lethal microcephaly, died due to measles, according to the Associated Press. Children with that condition typically live six months or less, and neither infant was old enough to have received the first dose of the measles vaccine, which is generally administered around one year of age.
As of Friday, Pennsylvania had recorded 676 measles cases across 37 counties. Of these, 124 resulted in hospitalizations, and four cases involved individuals who had been vaccinated. The reported figures from state and local officials differ from data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which stated that the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) had no death records for 2026 indicating measles as the underlying cause.
The state’s governor, Josh Shapiro, and the Trump administration have reportedly had disagreements regarding details of the previous two deaths.