The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Sept. 30 reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that an unvaccinated Lancaster County resident who tested positive for measles has died. It is the fifth death the state says meets its measles-associated definition this year.
Since the outbreak began in late April, confirmed cases now stand at 943 across 39 counties, with hospitalizations totaling 176. Forty of those infections were logged since Sept. 28, with detected cases increasing in recent months. Four of the 943 patients, less than 1 percent, had been vaccinated.
Officials released little else about the latest death and said the identity of the deceased would not be released. The department cited privacy laws, saying families “deserve the dignity to mourn in private.”…