A 40-year-old unvaccinated woman in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania has died from complications linked to measles, becoming the third measles-related death in the US this year, all of them in Pennsylvania. The state is currently battling a large outbreak with more than 670 confirmed cases and 124 hospitalisations across 37 counties, and had not recorded a measles death in 35 years before this cluster. Officials say the case underscores that measles can be dangerous for people of any age, not just children, and is a stark reminder of the risks of forgoing vaccination.

According to a preliminary death certificate obtained by the New York Times, the woman had underlying conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and relied on supplemental oxygen, making her especially vulnerable; her death was recorded as respiratory failure "due to suspected measles," though testing had not yet confirmed the infection. She was known to have been exposed to someone with measles and displayed classic symptoms, including the characteristic rash. The state health department has not yet added her death to its official tally and is reviewing the case. The other two US deaths this year involved infants in Lancaster County, one directly attributed to measles by the coroner and the other disputed by the same coroner, though the baby's parents and midwife believe measles was the cause; the CDC, under health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is not counting either infant death under a newly introduced reporting requirement.