The CDC has added a third U.S. measles death to its national tracker as cases pass 4,400, and Pennsylvania is warning physicians about congenital measles for the first time in decades.
Here are six things to know:
- Third death: The CDC now lists three deaths in 2026, up from two. The CDC’s database does not say when or where the death occurred, and the count remains below Pennsylvania’s.
- National count: The CDC had confirmed 4,410 cases as of Oct. 15, with 42 new outbreaks reported this year, 96% of cases outbreak-associated and cases reported by 47 jurisdictions. The agency says it is working with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists on a standard case definition for measles deaths.
- Congenital measles: The Pennsylvania Department of Health issued an advisory Oct. 19 saying measles cases during pregnancy are rising and that congenital measles, an infection a newborn contracts from the mother, has been identified for the first time in decades. About one-third of babies born to mothers whose measles rash began within 14 days of delivery develop congenital measles, according to the advisory. The department has reported 66 measles cases in pregnant women since April, and state law prevents it from sharing pregnancy outcomes, so it has not released the number of congenital cases.
- Guidance for clinicians: The advisory says MMR should not be given during pregnancy, and women should avoid pregnancy for 28 days afterward. Nonimmune pregnant women exposed to measles should receive immunoglobulin within six days. Neonates born within 14 days of the mother’s rash onset should be isolated, tested and given immunoglobulin, and babies of mothers who had measles in pregnancy should be monitored for delayed complications. Pregnant patients needing inpatient care should go to hospitals with maternal, neonatal and infection control capacity. Nonimmune new mothers and household members should be vaccinated.
- Pennsylvania’s outbreak: The state had recorded 1,286 cases as of Oct. 19 and has confirmed five deaths, with a sixth reported by the Franklin County coroner. Pennsylvania’s health secretary said in a letter to the CDC director that the state will accept the agency’s Epi-Aid assistance but again asked the CDC to acknowledge the state’s deaths on its public dashboard. Lawmakers have pressed the CDC director on the same issue, and Pennsylvania physicians have been surprised by complications in healthy children.
- Test validation request: California and Washington health officials asked the CDC in May to validate a test that can diagnose 500 measles cases in eight hours but didn’t hear back for two months, according to an Oct. 21 New York Times report on a letter from the West Coast Health Alliance, which also includes Oregon and Hawaii, to CDC Director Erica Schwartz. The agency eventually replied that it had “other competing priorities” and couldn’t dedicate time to making a high-volume test available to state labs. Measles is typically diagnosed by sending a sample to a public health lab, which can take two business days, or up to five where labs are short-staffed, and no commercial rapid test is available in the U.S. Texas and Utah labs developed and validated their own tests last year. HHS didn’t address questions about the CDC’s plans, and a spokeswoman told the Times the agency is prioritizing emerging technologies to help partners respond more quickly.
