A 5th person in Pennsylvania has died after contracting measles as cases statewide reach a record high

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Another person in Pennsylvania has died after testing positive for measles as an uncontrolled statewide outbreak of the viral disease infects hundreds of unvaccinated residents.

Pennsylvania’s fifth measles-associated death occurred in an unvaccinated person living in Lancaster County, an epicenter of the ongoing outbreak, state officials announced Wednesday.

The Department of Health did not release the person’s age or any other identifying details to “protect the privacy of the individual and their family.”

State officials reported the case to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which so far has recognized only two of Pennsylvania’s measles-related fatalities in national surveillance data.

The number of measles infections in the commonwealth reached 943 cases across 39 counties as of Wednesday, state data shows. About one in five people have been hospitalized.

Nearly all cases involve unvaccinated people, according to health officials. That group can include infants who are not yet eligible for the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, which is 97% effective in preventing a viral infection.

There have been four recorded measles cases in vaccinated people, representing less than 1% of all infections statewide. State health leaders have said the number is in line with the vaccine’s efficacy rate.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported the state’s first two measles-associated deaths in August. Both victims were infants in Lancaster County. State leaders reported two more deaths earlier this month — an 18-year-old from Mifflin County and a 40-year-old woman in Jefferson County.