CDC Excludes Pennsylvania Infant Deaths From Tracker as US Measles Cases Reach 3,134

Disputed infant fatalities in Lancaster County

A sharp conflict between federal and state health authorities expanded on Friday over whether two infant deaths in Pennsylvania should be classified as measles casualties. Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni announced that a six-week-old girl with Amish microcephaly, a rare genetic disorder that increases susceptibility to respiratory illness, died from measles at home last month. Diamantoni said his review of the medical records convinced him that measles caused the fatality, though the treating clinic initially did not refer the case because children with the genetic condition rarely survive beyond six months. The coroner maintained a different stance regarding an earlier death of a newborn Amish boy, whom he determined died from a lacerated spleen rather than measles. Pennsylvania Health Secretary Debra Bogen and the state health department previously classified both cases as measles-associated following epidemiological reviews, noting that spleen enlargement can occur during measles infections and increase rupture risks.

Federal and state political clash

Despite the coroner's findings, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its weekly public tracker on Friday to show zero measles deaths in the country for this year. The agency stated that available information does not establish measles as the underlying cause. Dr. Erica Schwartz, the new CDC director, directed staff to exclude the Pennsylvania deaths from national tallies, breaking with the standard practice of accepting state-reported epidemiological figures. The decision followed public exchanges between federal leaders and state officials. United States Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended the agency's stance on social media, arguing that federal authorities required definitive proof before revising national death figures.

The facts emerging now demonstrate why C.D.C. waited for the evidence rather than allowing political grandstanding to dictate its reporting.

Governor Josh Shapiro responded by criticizing federal health leadership for refusing to acknowledge the reported fatalities and for alleging that state staff had fabricated the reports.

Instead of listening to the real doctors and public health experts, RFK chose to sow doubt, play politics, direct the CDC not to acknowledge these deaths, and even accuse me of fabricating these tragedies.

Outbreak scale and vaccination efforts

The national caseload reached 3,134 confirmed infections across 47 states by Friday, the highest annual level in the United States since 1991. Pennsylvania remains the center of the surge, reporting nearly 600 total cases, with 242 located in Lancaster County and 91 patients requiring hospitalization. The outbreak began in late April and has spread to more than half of Pennsylvania's counties, recording 119 new infections in a single week. To curb transmission in Plain communities, including Amish and conservative Mennonite families who rarely seek routine medical care, health workers are administering immunizations discreetly inside private homes, fire stations, and places of worship. Medical workers warn that diagnostic challenges will increase as seasonal autumn illnesses appear with symptoms resembling measles. Pediatrician Dr. Nathan Keller, who has practiced in Lancaster County for 12 years, described the diagnostic difficulty during community spread.

It makes it really hard to tease out what's what, so having cases in the community and having some cases go unidentified could just prolong things.

The federal government recently revised childhood immunization recommendations, with President Donald Trump signing an order three weeks ago to replace the combined measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine with three separate injections.