Business · News 61
A six-week-old child in Pennsylvania died from measles, the Lancaster County coroner has determined, following two measles-related deaths in the county last week. The determination comes as Lancaster County faces a growing measles outbreak. Stephen Diamantoni, the county coroner, confirmed the death to multiple news outlets and said that the infant had Amish lethal microcephaly.
Children with the condition typically live to only five to six months, and the condition can make children more vulnerable to respiratory infections. State health officials have not confirmed whether the six-week-old was one of the two deaths announced last week. The first death, on 14 August, involved an infant whose mother had measles and transmitted it to the child.
In that case, the coroner told WGAL that a ruptured spleen, not measles, was the cause of death, but measles was listed on the newborn’s death certificate. Pennsylvania has counted nearly 400 measles cases across 28 counties, nearly half of which are in southern Lancaster County. Most cases reported to state health authorities are in adults between 18 and 49.
Official tallies are typically an undercount of actual cases. Governor Josh Shapiro and state health secretary Debra Bogen announced two Lancaster County residents had died in measles-associated cases, citing privacy laws. The deaths sparked a dispute between Shapiro and Robert F.
Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, over claims that measles was the cause. Shapiro criticized Kennedy’s misinformation, while Kennedy accused Democrats of politicizing the pandemic response. Former CDC officials criticized officials for using measles as a political tool.
The outbreak has pushed US measles cases to the highest level in over three decades.
Source: The Guardian
