Pennsylvania health officials have confirmed two additional measles-associated deaths, bringing the total confirmed deaths in the state this year to four, and driving U.S. fatalities to the highest level in decades. Both individuals were unvaccinated, the Pennsylvania Department of Health said in a statement on Tuesday. One lived in Jefferson County, the other lived in Mifflin County.
Additional identifying details won’t be released, the department said. The deaths are a grim milestone in the return of a disease that the U.S. once largely considered vanquished. Pennsylvania hadn’t recorded a measles-related death in 35 years before this summer; it has now reported four in a matter of weeks, as the state’s outbreak has swelled to nearly 700 cases.
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