Three Measles Deaths in One Week: A Disease America Had Eliminated Is Killing Again

Wisconsin's Department of Health Services reported on Nov. 5 that an infant died of measles — the state's first measles-related death since 1990. A coroner listed measles as the immediate cause of death. The death is connected to an outbreak in southwestern Wisconsin that has produced 431 cases across 13 counties in 2026, the state's highest count in more than 35 years.

Pennsylvania reported a measles-associated death on Nov. 4: an unvaccinated Jefferson County resident, the state's sixth this year. Two days before that, New York announced a child's death in Lewis County. Gov. Kathy Hochul had declared a statewide disaster emergency over measles in early October.

Nationally, eight measles-associated deaths have been reported in 2026, according to state health department data — the highest annual toll since 1991. More than 4,800 measles cases have been counted this year, the worst since the early 1990s. The reported deaths break down as one in New York, six in Pennsylvania, and one infant in Wisconsin.

The United States had reduced measles transmission to negligible levels by 2000. As coverage has slipped, outbreaks have erupted across the country, particularly in the last two years.

Wisconsin DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson said the death was related to a vaccine-preventable disease and urged residents to evaluate their risk. "Any death of a child is a tragedy," she said, "and even more so when it is related to a vaccine-preventable disease."

The measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is roughly 97 percent effective with two doses.