Pennsylvania Reports 94 New Measles Cases as Outbreak Reaches Butler and Westmoreland
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 27
Pennsylvania Reports 94 New Measles Cases as Outbreak Reaches Butler and Westmoreland
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 27
Summary
424 confirmed measles cases were recorded in Pennsylvania by Aug. 26, including 94 added in the prior week as Butler and Westmoreland counties logged their first cases.
Butler's case was confirmed Aug. 25 after visits to Sarver FasterCare and a primary care office; the patient was quarantined at home and contact tracing was underway.
Allegheny County still had no confirmed resident cases by Aug. 27, but officials said residents may have been exposed on Aug. 12 and Aug. 18 at UPMC Children's Hospital's emergency department.
Lancaster County remained the center of the outbreak with 197 cases, while Pennsylvania reported ongoing community transmission in 10 counties.
Two Lancaster County residents have died — Pennsylvania's first measles deaths in 35 years — and 73 patients, or about 17%, have been hospitalized.
With US kindergarten vaccination rates dropping below herd immunity, could the tragic infant death in Pennsylvania signal a new era of preventable outbreaks?
Since fully vaccinated individuals remain untouched, what unexpected factors are driving the rapid spread of measles across unvaccinated communities?