"Worst in Decades" Infant Death Reported Amid Rapid Measles Spread in U.S.

As the United States faces its worst measles outbreak in decades, an infant death has been reported in Wisconsin, Reuters reported on November 5 (local time).

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services made the announcement on the same day, stating that a medical examiner explicitly listed measles as the cause of death.

No additional information was released to protect the privacy of the grieving family.

Recent measles case numbers in the U.S. have reached their highest levels in decades.

This is attributed to measles outbreaks across multiple states and declining childhood vaccination rates in certain communities.

As of November 3, Wisconsin had reported 431 measles cases across 13 counties, with 9 people hospitalized for severe symptoms.

Ryan Westergaard, Wisconsin state epidemiologist, stated in a media briefing via phone that the state has not seen this many measles cases in over 35 years.

He added that the 431 cases identified are almost certainly an undercount, as not everyone infected gets tested or tracked by health authorities.

State health officials explained that they have been responding to the measles outbreak through patient tracking, testing, and vaccinations in cooperation with local and tribal health departments.

The spread of measles remains severe in other states as well.

Health officials in Pennsylvania reported on November 4 that the state had recorded its sixth measles-related death of the year.

New York State also reported its first child death related to measles earlier this week.

However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has tallied only 4 measles-related deaths nationwide this year, showing a significant discrepancy with the total of 8 deaths reported by the three states.

The CDC has not disclosed state-by-state breakdowns of the fatalities.

This discrepancy in tallies stems from policy changes made under the administration of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The CDC changed the data source used to track measles deaths from figures provided by state health departments to mortality statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics.
(Photo: Provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.