The Wisconsin Department of Health Services said Thursday that an infant has died in connection with the state’s ongoing measles outbreak.
The coroner listed measles as the immediate cause of death, the department said, declining to release further details to protect the family’s privacy.
The death comes as the United States faces its highest number of measles cases in decades, fueled by outbreaks in several states and declining childhood vaccination rates in some communities.
Wisconsin had reported 431 cases in 13 counties as of November 3, with nine people hospitalized with serious symptoms.
“This is the highest number of measles cases we’ve seen in Wisconsin in over 35 years,” epidemiologist Ryan Westergaard said on a media call.
“The 431 cases we identified are almost certainly an underestimate. Not all infected people are tested or reported to public health,” he added.
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State health officials said they have worked with local and tribal health departments to respond to the outbreak through case tracking, testing and vaccination efforts.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to Reuters’ comments.
On Wednesday, Pennsylvania health officials reported the sixth measles-associated death in the state this year. While New York State reported its first child death associated with measles earlier this week.
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However, the CDC has recorded four measles-related deaths this year, but has not specified the states in which they occurred.
The gap in the numbers follows a policy change under U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with the CDC switching to mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics to track measles deaths, replacing its previous reliance on figures from state health departments.
Gn Health
