Wisconsin infant is US’ third measles-related death this week
By Jen Christensen, CNN
(CNN) — An infant in Wisconsin has died in connection with an large, ongoing measles outbreak, the state health department said Thursday. The death marks the first measles-related death in Wisconsin in more than 35 years and the third reported in the US this week.
“My heart is broken for the family,” said Kirsten Johnson, secretary of the state’s health department. “Any death of a child is a tragedy and even more so when it is related to a vaccine-preventable disease. Measles can cause serious illness and death, and it is important for all Wisconsinites to evaluate their risk and take steps to protect themselves and their family.”
The health department said the coroner listed the immediate cause of death as measles. To protect the family’s privacy, the department will not release any additional details about the child, officials said.
Wisconsin is experiencing its largest measles outbreak in more than three decades. As of Thursday, Wisconsin has recorded 431 cases in 13 counties this years. The state’s health department cautions that the true number is most certainly higher because not everyone who gets sick seeks medical care.
To compare, Wisconsin had 36 cases in 2025. In the past, most cases were associated with international travel. Now, cases are now spreading through domestic travel, as well as through exposure to family members and others in the community.
Nine people in Wisconsin have been hospitalized. While anyone with measles can develop life-threatening complications such as pneumonia or swelling of the brain, children younger than 5, people with weak immune systems and people who are pregnant face a higher risk of severe disease.
The state is encouraging everyone who hasn’t been vaccinated to receive a measles vaccine. Two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are 97% effective at preventing measles.
Health officials said the rate of MMR vaccination among kindergarteners in Wisconsin is at about 85%, well below the roughly 95% coverage needed to prevent measles from spreading through a population.
“That’s really the central issue here: Measles is now spreading because there are enough people who are susceptible to infection for the virus to continue finding new hosts,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Wisconsin’s chief medical officer and state epidemiologist for communicable diseases.
Wisconsin’s health department updated its guidance this week to recommend an early dose of MMR vaccine for certain infants between 6 and 11 months of age who are at increased risk of exposure during the outbreak. Typically, MMR vaccination doesn’t start until a child’s first birthday.
Until 2025, there had been no measles deaths in the US for years. Three measles-related deaths have already been reported this week.
In Pennsylvania, an unvaccinated resident of rural Jefferson County, in the north-central part of the state, died after testing positive for measles, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said on Wednesday. It was the sixth person in Pennsylvania to die from measles this year.
On Monday, the New York State Department of Health announced that a child had died after contracting measles. The child lived in rural Lewis County, in the northern part of the state. The child’s death marked New York’s first in 30 years.
More than 4,800 measles cases have been reported across the US this year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the most since 1991, almost a decade before measles was declared eliminated in the US.
An international meeting to determine the status of measles elimination in the United States is scheduled to take place next week.
The-CNN-Wire
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