Pennsylvania measles outbreak tops 1,000 cases, the largest in a state in 30-plus years
Pennsylvania passed 1,000 measles cases this year, state health officials said Monday, the biggest outbreak in any U.S. state in more than three decades. The state reports 198 hospitalizations and five measles-associated deaths, and it is still at odds with federal health officials over how those deaths are counted.
AI-assisted · US Brief desk · Sources listed below
What happened
Pennsylvania has confirmed 1,004 measles cases across 39 counties this year, the state Department of Health said Monday. That includes 27 new cases since Friday, 198 hospitalizations and five measles-associated deaths. AP called it the largest outbreak in any U.S. state in more than three decades.
The country is having its worst measles year since 1991, with nearly 3,900 reported cases, according to CDC figures cited by AP. The last state outbreak this big was in New York City in the early 1990s, when more than 4,500 people were infected. South Carolina's recent outbreak reached 997 cases. Neighboring Ohio has reported more than 200 cases this year.
Pennsylvania's outbreak began in April, west of Philadelphia. Lancaster County has 391 cases, LancasterOnline reported, and Chester County has 83, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Only four cases involve vaccinated people, under 1% of the total. The deaths include two babies too young to be vaccinated and three unvaccinated people, PennLive reported.
More context
The outbreak has also set off a public fight over how deaths are counted. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, has accused U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of directing the CDC not to report the state's deaths. Shapiro also says misinformation from Kennedy has helped lower vaccination rates.
Kennedy says the governor is the one playing politics. He said Shapiro "has chosen to politicize this outbreak" while refusing federal help, City & State Pennsylvania reported. In August, Kennedy suggested the first two deaths may have been "fabricated," citing a county coroner who had no record of them, Fox News reported. State health officials said both people tested positive for measles.
The CDC has said it will count a measles death once federal death records list measles as the underlying cause. AP reported that the agency added one Pennsylvania death to its national tally two weeks ago and a second last week. The state counts five.
Measles spreads through the air and can linger for up to two hours, and up to 9 in 10 unprotected people who are exposed will catch it, the CDC says. Two doses of the MMR vaccine give about 97% protection, PennLive noted. State nurses have given more than 5,700 MMR shots at 192 pop-up clinics since the outbreak began, LancasterOnline reported. In November, international health officials will meet to decide whether the U.S. and Mexico have lost their measles-free status.
10 listed sources
- AP, Oct 5, 2026: Pennsylvania measles outbreak tops 1,000 cases
- PennLive, Oct 5, 2026: Measles cases in deadly Pa. outbreak surpass 1,000
- WFMZ-TV 69 News, Oct 5, 2026: DOH: Measles cases surpass 1,000 in Pennsylvania (state Department of Health figures)
- LancasterOnline, Oct 5, 2026: Pa. now tops 1,000 cases of measles in 2026
- Philadelphia Inquirer, Oct 5, 2026: Chester County has more measles cases than most states
- Philadelphia Inquirer, Sep 17, 2026: Pa. is asking CDC for more emergency aid, but only if measles deaths are reported (includes CDC statement)
- Reuters, Sep 17, 2026: Pennsylvania asks for CDC help on measles outbreak, demands agency recognize measles deaths
- City & State Pennsylvania, Sep 2026: As PA measles cases skyrocket, Shapiro-RFK Jr. beef expands (Shapiro and Kennedy statements)
- Fox News, Aug 2026: RFK Jr alleges Pennsylvania's two measles deaths may be fabricated (Kennedy and CDC statements)
- Pennsylvania Department of Health, Sep 30, 2026: DOH confirms fifth measles-associated death
References listed by US Brief; a source count is not a verification score.
Editorial sourcing notes
Case, hospitalization and death figures are Pennsylvania Department of Health counts as of Oct. 5, as reported by AP, PennLive and WFMZ. The state calls a death "measles-associated" when the person tested positive for measles while the official cause of death is still under review. The CDC's national count of Pennsylvania deaths is lower than the state's.
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