Authorities in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin reported two new deaths linked to measles, bringing the number of deaths from this cause in the United States to 10 during 2026, amid a rebound that exceeds 5,400 confirmed cases.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported on Friday that an unvaccinated person became the seventh fatality of the virus in that territory, which records 1,542 cases so far this year.
Wisconsin health officials reported the death of a minor, the second linked to measles in that state, which had already reported another child death in early November, the first from this cause since 1990.
The seven deaths in Pennsylvania and the two in Wisconsin are joined by one death in New York, also the first in more than 30 years.
The 10 deaths surpass the six in the provisional federal count released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), subject to additional revisions.
(She has helped deliver 2,000 babies. The measles outbreak made her change her mind about vaccines.)
CDC figures record 5,412 cases of measles so far this year in 47 territories of the country, more than double the 2,289 reported in 2025 and the highest number since the 1991 peak of 9,643 cases.
In comparison, between 2000 and 2024 the United States reported an average of 180 cases of the disease annually.
96% of the cases included in the federal count are from individuals who were not vaccinated or whose immunization status is unknown.
The United States was removed on Friday from the list of countries that have eradicated this disease by experts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), according to people involved in the decision told The Wall Street Journal. PAHO would plan to make the announcement publicly next week, according to officials from that organization, which is part of the WHO and is based in Washington, DC.
The decision had been seen coming for a few months, because the current measles outbreak is the worst the United States has had in decades: More than a dozen people have died (including several babies) and there are thousands of cases of infection in several states.
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