A 21-year-old woman from Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, has died of complications related to measles, marking the state’s sixth measles-associated death this year. State health officials announced the death Wednesday, saying the unvaccinated woman had tested positive for measles. Due to privacy laws, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has not disclosed further details.
Complications from a home birth
Funeral director Brenda Shumaker told The Washington Post that the woman had delivered her baby at home and was later flown to a hospital near Pittsburgh, where she died Sept. 30. Shumaker said, “She had just delivered her baby. It was a home birth, and the midwife was not able to handle the complications.”
The woman’s death certificate lists organ failure, postpartum hemorrhage (heavy bleeding after childbirth), liver failure, and suspected measles as the main causes of death. Her newborn, her first child, is healthy and living with family, Shumaker added.
Alarming rise in measles cases and deaths
Nationally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) counted 4,852 cases as of Oct. 29, the most in 35 years, The Post reports. This news follows New York’s first measles-linked death in more than three decades. An unvaccinated child in Lewis County died at home Sunday.
Approximately a month ago, CDC scientists sought to send doctors an urgent nationwide alert on the dangers of measles during pregnancy, but it was never approved. The reason for this remains unclear. Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, chief executive of the Infectious Disease Society of America, told The Post, “These are unprecedented knowledge gaps.”
Pennsylvania is home to the nation’s largest outbreak, with 1,467 cases across 45 counties as of Wednesday, state officials said.
State officials emphasize that receiving the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine before pregnancy is the most effective form of protection. Since the vaccine is live, it cannot be administered during pregnancy, and women should wait 28 days after vaccination before attempting to conceive.
Pregnant women who are not immune and have been exposed to measles should receive an infusion of protective antibodies, known as immune globulin, within six days, as advised by the alert. New mothers who are not immune should receive the MMR vaccine after delivery, as should household members who will be caring for the baby. In outbreak areas, infants cannot be vaccinated until they are 6 months old.
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