The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its national measles tally Wednesday to include one death in 2026, after Pennsylvania reported four measles-associated deaths in a growing outbreak.
The CDC’s website did not identify the person who died or say where the death occurred, leaving unclear whether it was one of the four Pennsylvania cases. But there have been no public reports from other states about measles-associated deaths.
The deaths have become the center of a bitter political feud between Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that started when Pennsylvania announced two measles-associated deaths in Lancaster County last month.
After Pennsylvania announced its first deaths, the CDC excluded the deaths from its weekly measles case and death tally, a decision that came from new CDC director Erica Schwartz, The Washington Post previously reported. The highly unusual decision departed from the agency’s practice of including such data from state health departments, which historically make the determinations.
Since then, the agency has provided several different reasons for why the deaths have not been included.
A footnote accompanying the revised tally said the number could change as the agency receives more information and completes reviews. CDC also said it is working with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists to develop a standardized definition for deaths caused by measles, aimed at making reporting consistent across jurisdictions.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said the National Center for Health Statistics informed CDC that it received a report from a state of a measles-related death. “Through its standard process, NCHS verified that the death occurred and that measles was listed as the underlying cause of death,” spokeswoman Emily Hilliard said. “This is now reflected on the CDC website.”
Pennsylvania announced two deaths in Lancaster County on Aug. 25 and two more, in Jefferson and Mifflin counties, on Sept. 15. The state health department said 792 measles cases have been confirmed across 39 counties so far in 2026, including 97 in the last seven days.
State health officials said their investigations included confirming symptoms consistent with measles, a positive laboratory test and that the deaths were not attributable to an unrelated cause. They also reviewed medical records and worked with local coroners.
The federal update comes as measles continues spreading nationwide. CDC has recorded 3,471 confirmed cases through Sept. 17, already exceeding the 2,289 reported for all of last year.
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