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A baby has died after contracting measles in southwest Wisconsin, becoming the first person in the state to die of the disease in 36 years.
The tragic passing is the third measles-related death reported in the U.S. this week, and the first to occur in Wisconsin since 1990. An infant also died of the disease in New York this week, while a Pennsylvanian woman died from measles on Wednesday, just after giving birth.
"It is with a heavy heart that we are reporting the first death of an infant connected with a measles outbreak in Wisconsin in many years,” Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary Kirsten Johnson said in a press release on Thursday. “My heart is broken for the family."
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As of November 3, the DHS has recorded 431 measles cases in Wisconsin this year, up from 335 two weeks ago. But the state health department has warned that the true figure is almost certain to be much higher, as not everyone who gets sick seeks medical care.
In 2025, Wisconsin reported just 35 cases of the disease, most of which were gained through international travel. Now cases are being transmitted through domestic travel and through exposure to other people carrying the disease.
Nine people in Wisconsin have been hospitalized due to developing severe symptoms associated with measles, including swelling of the brain and pneumonia. Children under 5 and pregnant women are considered to be demographics most vulnerable to the disease.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported four deaths from measles this year, although state health departments say the total could be as high as eight. The CDC noted the discrepancy in its reporting and said it only records cases that are confirmed to them directly.
The CDC said it will continue to update its count “as additional information becomes available and relevant reviews are completed.”
Why Measles?
Nationally, 4,842 cases have been confirmed by the CDC this year, more than double the 2025 tally and the highest number of recorded cases since 1991. Prior to last year, the last confirmed measles-related death in the U.S. occurred in 2015. Before then, none of the affected states had reported a measles-related death in over 30 years.
The outbreak in Pennsylvania, which began in April, is the most severe in the country, with the state health department reporting more than 1,500 cases across 45 counties. In October, New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster after more than 100 cases were reported.
“No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease,” Hochul said in a statement.
Wisconsin's state health department said it has sent out 2,000 additional doses of MMR vaccine to hospitals over the last several months. Around 500 doses have since been adminstered to infants.
Measles had been considered to be eliminated in the United States since 2000 but has returned in recent years. Health experts have attributed the increase in outbreaks to a decline in vaccinations among the general population.
Just two doses of the MMR vaccine, usually administered during childhood, are 97 percent effective against the disease. Children as young as 6 months are viable to receive the vaccine, with most getting their first dose of the shot around their first birthday.
Around 85 percent of kindergarteners in Wisconsin have been vaccinated against measles—below the national average of 92 percent. Health officials have cited this figure as the reason for the outbreak and said 95 percent of the population needs to be vaccinated to keep the disease at bay.
“That’s really the central issue here: Measles is now spreading because there are enough people who are susceptible to infection for the virus to continue finding new hosts,” Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Wisconsin’s chief medical officer, told CNN.
The Pan American Health Organization, a contingency with the World Health Organization, is set to hold a meeting next week to determine whether measles can still be considered to be eliminated in the United States.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Dave Siminoff.
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