CDC confirms the third U.S. measles death of 2026 as cases pass 4,400

A third person has died of measles in the United States this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday. The new death comes as the country fights its worst measles outbreak in decades, with 4,410 confirmed cases reported nationwide as of Oct. 15.

The CDC had counted two measles deaths in September. Federal officials did not say where any of the three people lived. The new total already equals the number of measles deaths the agency counted in all of last year.

A new way of counting deaths

The federal health department said the National Center for Health Statistics got a report of one more death and confirmed that measles was the underlying cause on the death certificate. The CDC now leans on that national death certificate data instead of reports sent in by state health departments. The switch came under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and has drawn scrutiny. The agency says its count could still change as reviews wrap up. It is also working with state disease experts on a standard definition of a measles death.

That approach helps explain why the national number trails what the states report. Pennsylvania alone has confirmed five measles-associated deaths this year, all in people who were not vaccinated. State officials are now reviewing a possible sixth. The Franklin County coroner said a woman with several underlying health problems who died on Saturday meets the state's definition of a measles-associated death.

Pennsylvania remains the hardest hit

Pennsylvania has 1,286 confirmed cases across 42 counties, the most of any state. The outbreak took off in Lancaster County in late April and has largely hit Amish families. So far 247 people in the state have been hospitalized. On Monday a CDC disease detective joined state staff on site after Pennsylvania formally asked for federal help on Oct. 7. The officer will work on models that project where cases are headed and measure how much local vaccine drives are slowing the spread.

Demand for the shot has surged. Pennsylvania doctors and clinics usually give about 25,000 doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine in a typical month. In September they gave more than 56,000. State nurses have given more than 9,700 doses this year, about 6,200 of them at 212 pop-up clinics in the hardest-hit communities.

A warning for pregnant women

Pennsylvania health officials also sent doctors an alert this week about measles in pregnancy. The state says 66 pregnant women have caught the virus since the outbreak began. Getting measles while pregnant raises the chances of a miscarriage, an early delivery or a baby with low birth weight. Doctors say at least six babies in the state have been born with congenital measles, a condition almost never seen in the U.S. At least two of those newborns landed in intensive care with pneumonia.

Babies born with measles can also face serious trouble years later, including a rare brain disease that is almost always fatal. The vaccine contains a weakened live virus, so it cannot be given during pregnancy. Officials urge women to get vaccinated before they become pregnant. A pregnant woman who is not immune and gets exposed can receive a dose of immune globulin within six days to cut her risk. New mothers who are not immune can get the vaccine after delivery. It is safe for women who are breastfeeding.

Beyond Pennsylvania

Cases have turned up in 47 states and jurisdictions this year. The CDC has tracked 42 new outbreaks in 2026. About 96% of all confirmed cases are linked to an outbreak. In New York, state health officials counted 162 cases as of Oct. 17 after Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency earlier this month.

Measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. Two doses of the vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing it. A Johns Hopkins epidemiologist said the country should not be seeing any measles deaths at all. He called for a stronger federal push to raise vaccination rates in vulnerable communities and to fight misinformation.