Pennsylvania Measles Cases Rise to 1,004 as Outbreak Spreads

Pennsylvania’s health department reported 1,004 measles cases as of Monday, as the state grapples with a fast-growing outbreak.

Five Pennsylvania residents have died after contracting the highly contagious disease, as cases in the US reach their highest level in more than three decades.

The Pennsylvania measles cases include 198 hospitalizations, according to the health department’s website

Lancaster county remains the hardest-hit area in the state with 391 cases

All five people who have died from the disease in Pennsylvania this year were unvaccinated

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed only two measles-related deaths in the country this year, without naming the states

The CDC has recorded 3,887 measles cases in 2026 so far — the most since the major resurgence between 1989 and 1991, when 55,000 infections and 123 deaths were recorded

The CDC has said it was working with state epidemiologists on a standard definition for measles-related deaths

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease but preventable with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, which is 97% effective after two doses

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)