Measles kills again: 6 dead in Pennsylvania as America faces its worst outbreak in decades | Gravitas

Measles kills again: 6 dead in Pennsylvania as America faces its worst outbreak in decades | Gravitas

The state of Pennsylvania has reported its sixth measles-associated death, as U.S. faces its worst measles outbreak since decades.

But the question remains how has a disease which was officially eliminated from the country 26 years ago seen such a resurgence?

So far this year, over four thousand eighty cases have already been reported in America.

This is close to double the number of cases last year.

While this outbreak has affected almost all states, Pennsylvania tops the list with more than eleven hundred cases.

The other states with over 500 confirmed cases are South Carolina and Utah.

Wisconsin and Ohio have also been quite affected by this outbreak.

Last week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency over a measles outbreak.

It has reported at least 108 measles cases until now.

This order allows registered nurses to order tests for suspected measles, and pharmacists can vaccinate children as young as two years old.

Now, this assumes significance, as U.S. has seen the most number of cases in a single year since 1991.

According to the U.S. CDC 42% of those infected with measles are aged between five and nineteen.

10% of the patients have been hospitalised.

Now, it is worth noting that U.S. would see up to five hundred thousand measles cases on average annually prior to the introduction of measles vaccine in 1963.

In a significant public health achievement, U.S. achieved measles elimination status in 2000.

This status implies that measles is not spreading within the country, and new cases are found only when someone contracts measles abroad and returns to U.S.

Now, the sudden resurgence of measles has been attributed to the falling vaccination coverage among kindergartners.

This has reduced from 95.2% in 2019-2020 to 92.4% in 2025-26.

This is vital as herd immunity against measles requires about 95% of a population to be vaccinated.

According to authorities, over two hundred thousand children in U.S. are potentially at risk.

Now, the measles outbreak cannot be taken lightly as it is one of the most contagious diseases.

It spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.

The virus can linger on in air or on infected surfaces for up to two hours.

According to W.H.O., one person infected by measles can generate up to 18 secondary infections.

While vaccination is believed to have prevented an estimated 59 million deaths worldwide from 2000 to 2024, 95,000 people still died from this disease in 2024.

According to UNICEF, the fatality risk is far higher in lower income countries.

For every 1,000 children who contract measles, 30 to 60 are likely to die.

As far as the symptoms of measles are concerned, they usually begin 7 to 14 days after exposure to the virus.

Some of the early symptoms include fever, cough, red and watery eyes, and white spots inside the cheeks.

Most deaths from measles are due to complications related to the disease, such as blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhea and ear infections.

Now, as measles cases continue to raise public health concerns, some experts are warning about one of the lesser-known but potentially life-altering complications of this disease—permanent hearing loss.