Pennsylvania coroner confirms measles caused death of 6-week-old infant

LANCASTER, Pa. - Lancaster County Coroner Stephen Diamantoni confirmed Friday that measles caused the death of a 6-week-old infant, The Hill reported.

The child died last month and had been born with Amish lethal microcephaly, a rare genetic condition that can leave infants vulnerable to respiratory infections. Diamantoni told Lancaster Online that after reviewing medical records he concluded measles was the cause of death. Children with that disorder often die within months of birth from viral respiratory illness. Measles is a respiratory infection, and the infant tested positive for measles, he said.

Pennsylvania health officials said last week that two unvaccinated people, including an infant, had died in measles-related cases. Those were described as the state's first measles-related deaths in 35 years and the first in the United States this year. As of Friday the outbreak had reached 577 confirmed cases and 98 hospitalizations, according to The Hill. It was not confirmed whether the 6-week-old was one of the two previously announced deaths.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had said available information did not yet establish whether measles caused or only accompanied earlier reported deaths, and that national counts would be updated as facts clarified. Federal health officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, had asked for clearer cause-of-death detail from Pennsylvania as the outbreak grew. Oz told Fox Business that officials needed to know whether children died from measles or from other conditions while also infected.

Clinics sometimes do not call the coroner when a medically fragile infant dies of an expected respiratory course. Diamantoni said his office opened a fuller review after the state announcement. For families, the public-health point is unchanged: measles spreads easily, infants under 12 months are usually too young for routine MMR vaccine, and high community vaccination rates protect newborns and medically fragile children.

Adults unsure of their measles immunity, especially grandparents who care for babies, can ask a clinician about titers or a booster. Outbreak counties also publish guidance on isolation and school rules as case counts move.