Adult woman dies of measles complications in growing Pennsylvania outbreak

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A 40-year-old woman who lived in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, has died from measles complications, the county coroner confirmed Sunday. It’s the third measles-associated death in a fast-growing outbreak that’s sparked a political clash between state and federal officials.

The woman died Saturday, according to a news release from the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office, which said it was working with the Pennsylvania Department of Health on the case. The woman hadn’t been vaccinated against measles, the coroner, Greg Furlong, confirmed to CNN.

The death follows two measles-associated deaths reported in Lancaster County at the end of August , the first connected to the viral illness in the state in 35 years. That county is the epicenter of Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak, which had reached 676 cases as of Friday, 108 of which were added in the previous week. One hundred twenty-four people have been hospitalized.

“This is a heartbreaking loss for the family and an unfortunate reminder that measles can be a serious and potentially life-threatening disease,” Furlong said in a statement posted on the coroner’s office’s Facebook page.

The woman contracted measles after a family member had it as well, Furlong told CNN, and noted she also had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and asthma, and had been on supplemental oxygen 24 hours a day before getting measles.

The state health department said it’s in touch with the coroner and is conducting its own review of the case, and said it will provide the public with updated information when it becomes available.

In some of her first public comments about the country’s measles outbreaks, Dr. Erica Schwartz, the newly confirmed director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement that the agency hadn’t been notified by Pennsylvania officials of the death.

“Despite repeated offers of assistance, Pennsylvania has not requested a CDC Epi-Aid, which would deploy epidemiologists and provide on-the-ground measles outbreak support,” Schwartz’s statement, shared with CNN by email, said.

“By contrast, Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, Kansas, New Mexico, and Wisconsin have officially requested CDC Epi-Aids and worked alongside federal teams to help bring their measles outbreaks under control. CDC remains ready to provide Epi-Aid support to Pennsylvania as soon as the state officially requests our help.”

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said in late August when the state announced the first two measles-associated deaths that he’d declined an offer from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, for federal help. He then said he’d told the secretary that his “actions and his rhetoric,” including spreading misinformation about vaccines, was harming communities.

Kennedy, an outspoken vaccine skeptic , shot back on social media, accusing Shapiro of fearmongering and the “weaponization of infectious disease” for political gain. He suggested the deaths may have been “altogether fabricated” by one of Shapiro’s “hopeful staffers” to support a narrative that measles infection is more dangerous than it actually is.

The two deaths in Lancaster County were in infants, the county coroner there said, but his office disputed whether one of the deaths was caused by measles. A newborn died of a ruptured spleen, which the coroner, Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, said his forensic pathologist deemed wasn’t caused by the viral illness.

A second death, in a six-week-old infant with a serious genetic condition called Amish lethal microcephaly, was caused by measles, Diamantoni told CNN .

Measles typically causes about one in five people who aren’t vaccinated to be hospitalized, according to the CDC . As many as one out of every 20 children with measles gets pneumonia, the most common cause of death from measles in young children. One of every 1,000 kids with measles will develop brain swelling. The virus kills one to three of every 1,000 children who become infected.

“Many people associate measles with a childhood illness, but it can lead to severe complications in individuals of any age,” Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner and Public Relations Officer Jason Stiver said in the office’s statement. “Measles is highly contagious and can result in serious respiratory illness, hospitalization, and in rare cases like this, death.”

The MMR vaccine is the best way to protect against measles, the CDC says. Two doses provide 97% protection against measles. Approved since 1963, the vaccine is very safe, and side effects are usually mild and go away on their own, the agency says .

In its statement Sunday, the state health department reiterated that last month, it “confirmed two measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania,” adding, “The Department’s primary focus remains on stopping the spread of measles across the Commonwealth by expanding access to measles vaccination.”

CNN’s Brenda Goodman contributed to this report.

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宾夕法尼亚州杰斐逊县一名40岁女子因麻疹并发症去世，该县验尸官周日证实了这一消息。这是麻疹疫情迅速蔓延以来第三例与麻疹相关的死亡病例，疫情已引发州政府和联邦官员之间的政治冲突。

据杰斐逊县验尸官办公室发布的新闻稿称，这名女子于周六去世。该办公室表示，他们正与宾夕法尼亚州卫生部合作调查此案。验尸官格雷格·弗隆向CNN证实，这名女子生前未接种过麻疹疫苗。

继兰开斯特县8月底报告两例麻疹相关死亡病例之后，又出现了一例死亡病例。这是宾夕法尼亚州35年来首例与麻疹相关的死亡病例。该县是宾夕法尼亚州麻疹疫情的中心，截至周五，该州已累计报告676例病例，其中108例为上周新增。目前已有124人住院治疗。

“这对家属来说是令人心碎的损失，也不幸地提醒我们，麻疹可能是一种严重的、甚至危及生命的疾病，”弗隆在验尸官办公室的Facebook页面上发表的声明中说道。

弗隆告诉 CNN，这名女子是在一名家庭成员患上麻疹后感染的，并指出她还患有慢性阻塞性肺病（COPD）和哮喘，在感染麻疹之前，她每天 24 小时都需要吸氧。

州卫生部门表示，他们已与验尸官取得联系，并正在对该案件进行内部审查，一旦有最新信息，将立即向公众提供。

美国疾病控制与预防中心新任主任埃里卡·施瓦茨博士在首次就该国麻疹疫情发表公开评论时发表声明称，该机构尚未收到宾夕法尼亚州官员关于死亡事件的通知。

“尽管我们多次提出援助，但宾夕法尼亚州仍未向疾控中心申请流行病学援助，该援助将部署流行病学家并提供麻疹疫情现场支持，”施瓦茨通过电子邮件与 CNN 分享的声明中写道。

“相比之下，德克萨斯州、南卡罗来纳州、弗吉尼亚州、堪萨斯州、新墨西哥州和威斯康星州已正式向疾控中心提出流行病援助请求，并与联邦团队合作，帮助控制麻疹疫情。一旦宾夕法尼亚州正式提出援助请求，疾控中心随时准备向其提供流行病援助支持。”

宾夕法尼亚州州长、民主党人乔什·夏皮罗在8月下旬该州宣布首例麻疹相关死亡病例时表示，他拒绝了美国卫生与公众服务部部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪提出的联邦援助提议。他随后表示，他曾告诉肯尼迪部长，他的“行为和言论”，包括散布有关疫苗的虚假信息，正在损害社区利益。

肯尼迪是一位直言不讳的疫苗怀疑论者，他在社交媒体上反击，指责沙皮罗散布恐慌，并“将传染病武器化”以谋取政治利益。他暗示，这些死亡病例可能是沙皮罗的一位“满怀希望的幕僚”为了佐证麻疹感染比实际情况更危险的说法而“完全捏造”的。

兰开斯特县的两例死亡病例均为婴儿，该县验尸官表示，但他的办公室对其中一例死亡是否由麻疹引起提出异议。一名新生儿死于脾脏破裂，验尸官斯蒂芬·迪亚曼托尼博士称，他的法医病理学家认定该死因并非病毒性疾病。

迪亚曼托尼告诉 CNN，第二起死亡事件是一名六周大的婴儿，他患有一种名为阿米什致命性小头畸形的严重遗传疾病，死因是麻疹。

据美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）的数据，未接种疫苗的麻疹患者中，约有五分之一需要住院治疗。每20名麻疹患儿中就有1名会并发肺炎，肺炎是幼儿麻疹死亡的最常见原因。每1000名麻疹患儿中，约有1名会出现脑水肿。每1000名感染麻疹病毒的儿童中，约有1至3人死亡。

杰斐逊县首席副验尸官兼公共关系官杰森·斯蒂弗在办公室声明中表示：“许多人认为麻疹是儿童疾病，但它可能导致任何年龄段的人出现严重并发症。麻疹传染性极强，可导致严重的呼吸系统疾病、住院治疗，在像​​这样的罕见病例中，甚至会导致死亡。”

美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）表示，麻疹、腮腺炎、风疹（MMR）疫苗是预防麻疹的最佳方法。接种两剂可提供97%的麻疹保护率。该机构称，这种疫苗自1963年获准使用以来，安全性极高，副作用通常较轻微，且会自行消失。

宾夕法尼亚州卫生部门在周日发表的声明中重申，上个月该部门“确认了宾夕法尼亚州两例与麻疹相关的死亡病例”，并补充说，“该部门的首要任务仍然是通过扩大麻疹疫苗接种范围来阻止麻疹在全州的传播。”

CNN的布伦达·古德曼对本报道亦有贡献。