Lancaster County, PA infant confirmed to have died from measles

A six-week-old infant’s death in Pennsylvania was caused by measles, the Lancaster County coroner confirmed Friday.

County coroner Stephen Diamantoni said the child, who died last month, was born with Amish lethal microcephaly, a rare genetic condition that can cause respiratory infections.

Pennsylvania health officials last week announced the “measles-related” deaths of two unvaccinated people, including an infant, as the state grapples with an outbreak that has sickened 577 people and hospitalized 98 as of Friday.

Their deaths were the first measles-related deaths in the state in 35 years and the first in the U.S. this year.

It has not been confirmed if the six-week-old child was one of the previously-announced two cases.

At the time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not confirm whether measles was the cause of death in both cases.

“Available information does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths or whether the individuals died from other causes while infected with measles,” the CDC’s website read. “CDC will update the national count as additional information becomes available.”

Diamantoni said in an interview with Lancaster Online, which first reported details of the child’s death, that his office began to investigate the second case after the announcement from state health officials.

After learning of the child’s Amish lethal microcephaly diagnosis and reviewing her medical records, he said he was able to confirm that the cause of death was measles.

According to Diamantoni, the clinic that was treating the child did not initially report the case to the coroner because the child’s death was not surprising. Children diagnosed with that genetic condition often die within months of birth from viral respiratory illnesses.

“The child did test positive for measles. We know that children with this disorder will die of respiratory infections,” Diamantoni said. “Measles is a respiratory infection and we know the life expectancy of these poor kids is very short.”

Trump administration officials, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have questioned Pennsylvania’s handling of the measles outbreak, publicly feuding with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) over transparency.

“We don’t know exactly what happened in Pennsylvania yet,” Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in an interview with Fox Business.

“We don’t know if the children died from measles or had another condition that was already attacking them and they happened to get measles at the same time.”