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 coroner directly listed measles as the cause of death.

Additional information was not released to protect the privacy of the grieving family.

Recently, the number of measles cases in the U.S. has reached its highest level in decades.

This is attributed to measles outbreaks across multiple states and a decline in childhood vaccination rates in some communities.

As of November 3, 431 measles cases were reported across 13 counties in Wisconsin, with 9 people hospitalized due to severe symptoms.

Ryan Westergaard, Wisconsin's chief medical officer and state epidemiologist, stated during a media briefing via phone call that Wisconsin 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 is tracked by health authorities.

The state health department explained that it has been responding to the measles outbreak through patient tracing, testing, and vaccinations in cooperation with local and tribal health authorities.

The spread of measles is also severe in other states.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported on November 4 that the state's sixth measles-related death of the year had occurred.

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 counted only 4 measles-related deaths this year, marking a significant discrepancy with the total of 8 deaths already reported by the three states.

The CDC has not disclosed its death toll breakdown by state.

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

The CDC changed the data source used to compile measles mortality statistics 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)