Franklin County coroner announces measles-associated death, state Health Dept. still investigating

A 39-year old woman has reportedly died in Franklin County after being diagnosed with measles, according to the local coroner’s office.

If confirmed, it would mark the sixth measles-associated death in Pennsylvania this year. That’s the most in a single year since 1991, when there was an outbreak in Philadelphia.

According to the Franklin County coroner, Jordan F. Conner, the woman was unvaccinated and had multiple underlying conditions, though her primary cause of death was “a probable acute cardiac event due to possible complications of the measles.”

“This is the first death in Franklin County in many years with a patient with a recent history of a measles diagnosis and meets the definition set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for a measles-associated death,” his office said in a press release.

More details were not provided out of respect for the deceased and her family’s privacy, Conner said.

A spokesperson for the state Department of Health said the department is “conducting a thorough review of the reported death. We will update the public after our investigation is finished.”

The department defines a measles-associated death as one that “occurs within 30 days of symptom onset in an individual with clinical evidence of a measles infection and a positive laboratory test and that is not due to unrelated causes (e.g., motor vehicle accident.)”

Coroners and state health officials have disagreed over causes of deaths before.

Pennsylvania has become the epicenter of a nationwide measles outbreak that, as of Friday, sickened 4,080 people this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Pennsylvania alone, there have been over 1,130 cases, about one in five of which have required hospitalization.

Less than 1% of measles cases in Pennsylvania have been in vaccinated people, according to the state Department of Health. 

Two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine provide 97% lifetime protection. 

Pennsylvanians can contact their doctor or local health department for more information on where and whether they should get vaccinated.