An infant in Wisconsin has died of measles, state health officials said Thursday, the first measles-related death in the state in more than 35 years and the third such death reported in the United States this week.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced the death Thursday. The coroner listed measles as the immediate cause of death, the department said, and officials will not release any additional details about the child — including age, county of residence or vaccination status — to protect the family's privacy.
"It is with a heavy heart we are reporting the first death of an infant connected with a measles outbreak in Wisconsin in many years. My heart is broken for the family," Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary Kirsten Johnson said in a news release.
Wisconsin is experiencing its largest measles outbreak in more than three decades. As of Nov. 3, the state had recorded 431 cases in 13 counties this year, the highest yearly total in more than 35 years, with all but three of the cases in people who were unvaccinated. Nine people have been hospitalized.
The Wisconsin death follows two others this week: New York announced its first measles death in 30 years on Nov. 2, and Pennsylvania confirmed its sixth measles-related death of the year on Nov. 4. Eight measles-related deaths have been reported nationally in 2026, the highest toll since 1991. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose official count lags behind state reporting, has confirmed four deaths and more than 4,800 cases in 45 states and Washington, D.C., as of Oct. 29 — more than double last year's total of 2,289.
