Lancaster County coroner says measles caused second infant death as US cases soar past 3,100
Mary Van Beusekom, MS52 minutes ago.
Measles
Today in Pennsylvania, Lancaster County Coroner Stephen Diamantoni, MD, confirmed that the county’s second measles infant death, which he initially called “measles associated,” was caused by the highly contagious virus. The county is the site of a rapidly growing measles outbreak.
Earlier this week, Diamantoni confirmed that measles was detected in a child who had died a few weeks ago. When the Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed two measles-related deaths last week, it provided little information on the patients, including their ages.
Diamantoni has said that the death of the first infant in Lancaster County was not from measles; he attributed it to a ruptured spleen. Measles virus was detected in the boy’s body. He was born to a measles-infected mother on August 14 and died shortly after birth.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently does not include either death in its 2026 measles fatality count.
At a press briefing today, Diamantoni said the second death involved an Amish girl who was born in July and died on August 18. She had a rare genetic neurologic disorder called Amish lethal microcephaly characterized by abnormally small head size and an underdeveloped brain. She was immediately admitted to palliative care at a hospital. It’s unknown whether the infant was infected with measles before or after birth.
Microencephaly may portend short life
Microcephaly occurs in about one of every 500 births in the Amish population but is very rare outside of that community, Diamantoni said.“Those children are sick from birth and actually are placed on palliative care from the time of birth,” he said. “They typically only live 5 or 6 months of age and the majority of those children die as a result of a respiratory infection of any kind, because their brain is very small and they don’t have the capacity to fight those infections well.”
Many of these children end up dying of respiratory infections of different types, and the death was not unexpected.
Stephen Diamantoni, MD
Diamantoni said he didn’t know whether this was the second measles-related death reported by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Debra Bogen, MD, during a press briefing on August 25. The case wasn’t initially reported to Diamantoni’s office; rather, it was handled by the Clinic for Special Children in Leacock Township. On August 26, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested that the deaths were fabricated.
“I don’t want to go into details in terms of how we were able to ascertain that information, but I mean, certainly the providers there did not think that it was a case that needed to be referred to the coroner’s office because many of these children end up dying of respiratory infections of different types, and the death was not unexpected," Diamantoni said.
Pennsylvania adds 115 new cases
Today, the CDC updated the country’s measles case count, which stands at 3,134, including the two Pennsylvania deaths. Eight percent of measles patients have been hospitalized.Of the total, 231 infections are new. That compares with 126 new cases last week.
Of all cases, 94% occurred in people who were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. All cases but 16 were locally transmitted. In all of 2025, 2,289 measles case were confirmed in the United States.
In Pennsylvania, officials today added 115 new cases—about half of all new US infections—from the past week to its state case tally, raising it to 577 cases. None of the state’s cases involve people fully vaccinated against the virus. In total, 98 people (17%) have been hospitalized. Thirty percent of infections occurred in children.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health also warned that travelers at the New Stanton Service Plaza on the westbound Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County may have been exposed to measles by a person from another state who stopped at the plaza on August 17 and later tested positive for the virus.
On the cusp of the Labor Day weekend, which entails travel for many people, healthcare professionals are urging travelers to be vigilant in monitoring for symptoms of the highly contagious disease, such as rash, fever, and red, watery eyes.
Ohio is reporting 15 new cases, including five cases in Wayne County, amid its third measles outbreak of the year, raising its tally for the year to 122.