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Wisconsin health officials reported the death of an infant related to the ongoing measles outbreak in southwestern Wisconsin.

It’s the first measles-associated death in the state in more than 35 years, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

DHS reported that the coroner listed measles as the immediate cause of death. State officials said no further information about the death is being released to protect the privacy of the child and the family.

DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson said in a statement that her “heart is broken for the family.”

“Any death of a child is a tragedy and even more so when it is related to a vaccine-preventable disease,” Johnson said in the statement. “Measles can cause serious illness and death, and it is important for all Wisconsinites to evaluate their risk and take steps to protect themselves and their family.”

Doctors recommend children get their first dose of the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, between 12 and 15 months.

But Dr. Ryan Westergaard, DHS chief medical officer and state epidemiologist for communicable diseases, announced Thursday on a call with reporters that the state is now recommending infants who are 6 months to 11 months old receive an early dose of the shot if they are at an increased risk of exposure due to the outbreak.

“In an outbreak, when we know that an infant may be exposed to measles, there is a benefit to providing that protection earlier,” Westergaard said. “For families with babies younger than 6 months or others who cannot be vaccinated, the most important protection is making sure that the people around them are immune. That’s one of the reasons that maintaining high vaccination coverage is so important.”

Kids younger than 5 years old are among those most at risk of serious complications from measles, along with people who are pregnant and those with weakened immune systems. The highly contagious virus can cause pneumonia and swelling of the brain.

Westergaard said the red, bumpy rash associated with measles doesn’t usually occur until several days after someone becomes sick. He told reporters than an infection typically starts with fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes, and he urged people to avoid contact with others as soon as these symptoms occur.

“We need people to recognize measles infections when they do occur and do everything we can to avoid exposing others,” said Westergaard, adding that those with symptoms should contact their local health department or medical provider for further guidance.

There have been 431 measles cases across 13 Wisconsin counties as of Tuesday. It’s the highest number of cases in the state in more than 35 years, according to DHS.

And it’s “almost certainly an underestimate” of infections, according to Westergaard. He told reporters that not everyone who becomes infected gets tested or comes to the attention of public health.

Westergaard pointed out that widespread vaccination changed measles from a common childhood infection to a relatively rare disease until recent years.

“That was an extraordinary public health achievement, but it wasn’t permanent and it wasn’t inevitable that we would have that success,” he said. “It depended on doing the hard work of maintaining high levels of immunity in our communities. The death we’re reporting today is a tragic reminder of what can happen when measles begins circulating again.”

The vast majority of cases in Wisconsin this year have been linked to spread of the virus among residents of Grant, Iowa, Lafayette and Vernon counties.

The remaining measles cases have been linked to people being infected with measles during travel out of state.

So far, nine Wisconsinites have required hospitalization for severe symptoms from measles. Over 99% of cases have been in people who are unvaccinated.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been four other measles-related deaths reported in the U.S. this year. 

The MMR vaccine is 97% effective at preventing measles when the person has completed the medically recommended two-dose course.

State health officials are urging residents to check their and their families’ vaccination status through the state’s online registry or with their medical provider.

DHS reported some progress on improving the state’s vaccination rates. Since Aug. 1, the state has delivered 2,000 doses of the MMR vaccine to local health departments in measles-affected communities. Across the state, over 42,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered since Aug. 1.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Infant’s death linked to measles outbreak in southwest Wisconsin is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

A Wisconsin infant has died of measles — the first death from the viral illness since 1990, the state health department reported Thursday.

The death comes as Wisconsin has experienced the largest number of measles cases in more than 35 years, Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, told reporters at a media briefing Thursday afternoon.

DHS officials have not released other information about the death, citing the privacy of the family involved.

In 2026, nine people have been hospitalized with measles, and the state has recorded 431 measles cases in 13 counties. That is “almost certainly an underestimate,” Westergaard said. “Not everyone who becomes infected gets tested or comes to the attention of public health.”

The cases reported in 2026 are more than 10 times the number reported in 2025.

“Just last year, we reported 36 cases, and in the decade before that, most years we had either zero or one measles case per year,” Westergaard said.

“Measles was once a common childhood infection in the United States,” he said. “What brought it under control was vaccination to the point that many physicians practicing today have never seen a case. That was an extraordinary public health achievement. But it wasn’t permanent and it wasn’t inevitable that we would have that success.”

The MMR vaccine, which protects against mumps, measles and rubella, is the principal line of defense from the virus, but vaccination rates have been falling.

“Two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97% protective against measles,” Westergaard said. “This is a vaccine we’ve used for decades. We have extensive experience about its safety and its effectiveness.”

For maximum effect, about 95% of the population needs to be vaccinated to prevent measles from spreading easily through a community. In Wisconsin, about 85% of kindergarten-age children are vaccinated, and nationally the rate is 92%.

“And that’s really the central issue here,” Westergaard said. “Measles is now spreading because there are enough people who are susceptible to infection for the virus to continue finding new hosts.”

Vaccination rates also vary widely across the state, falling well below the 85% average in some areas.

“We have many pockets in communities throughout Wisconsin that have these lower levels, that we are concerned if measles is introduced, we could see community spread,” said Dr. Stephanie Schauer, the Wisconsin immunization program manager. “You have to really be aware of what are the rates at your school and in your community and in your county.”

Westergaard said DHS is recommending that people get the MMR vaccine if they haven’t had it. Statewide, healthcare providers have given about 42,000 doses of the shot since August, he said.  

DHS also has issued new guidance recommending that infants who are 6 to 11 months old and who are considered at increased risk of exposure to measles get an early dose of the vaccine. Westergaard said DHS has sent healthcare providers a notice about the early shot and that providers can recommend it to those patients with infants whose risk level warrants it.

Schauer said between 500 and 600 infants in Wisconsin have received the early shot in the last three months.  

Measles typically begins with a fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes, with its telltale symptom, a red rash over the body, showing up several days later. It is not simply a childhood illness, Westergaard said. It can cause pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, permanent disability and death.

Measles is also extraordinarily contagious. The airborne virus can remain in a room for as long as two hours after an infected person leaves. When a person who’s not immune is exposed, “there’s a very high likelihood they’ll become infected,” Westergaard said.

For that reason, “we need people to recognize measles infections when they do occur and do everything we can to avoid exposing others,” he said.

Schauer said the state needs to ensure all children have access to vaccines, and that more can be done to make families aware of the Vaccines for Children program, which enables families with no insurance or  inadequate insurance to get vaccines at no cost.

Falling vaccination rates aren’t limited to the MMR vaccine.

A report the Wisconsin Policy Forum released Thursday finds that the percentage of students in grades K-12 who have met all of Wisconsin’s minimum immunization requirements for schoolchildren is at a near-record low, 87.4% for the 2025-26 school year.

That rate is up slightly from the previous year, but it’s still “much lower than the level that would provide population-wide protection against outbreaks of disease,” the report states.

The report identifies several reasons for the declining rates. They include an increased number of shots added to the list of required vaccines, the “disruption and controversy” surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent vaccines for that illness, and an increase in the number of waivers from school vaccine requirements sought by families.

The report suggests that public health officials work to target students behind schedule in their vaccines, reduce the number of “personal conviction waivers,” which parents can file if they are opposed to vaccination in order to exempt their children from school requirements, and rebuild trust with the public.

NEW YORK — Facing a surge of measles cases in New York state’s rural counties, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an executive order on Monday allowing paramedics, pharmacists, midwives and other non-physicians to administer vaccines.

Hochul’s decision to declare a “state disaster emergency” comes amid the nation’s worst measles outbreak in more than 30 years and an eruption in neighboring Pennsylvania that is the largest that any single state has experienced since the early 1990s.

As of Oct. 3, New York had reported 108 total cases, its highest number since 2019. Pennsylvania has recorded more than 1,000 cases this year, and state officials there have attributed five deaths to the disease (so far the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has only confirmed two of them.) There have been no deaths in New York.

As of October 1, the CDC had recorded more than 3,887 confirmed cases this year in the United States.

“No one should get seriously ill or die from a vaccine-preventable disease. That is why I have taken steps to increase the number of health professionals who can vaccinate and test,” Hochul said in a news  release.

Also on Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, announced that the state would join 15 other Democratic-led states in suing the Trump administration over its decision to scale back the childhood vaccination schedule. Joining in the lawsuit are the state attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin, and the governor of Pennsylvania.

Measles is a respiratory virus that leads to symptoms of fever and rash, and can cause serious health complications, such as pneumonia and even death. It’s highly contagious and can be contracted through exposure to contaminated air or surfaces. It is entirely preventable, however, with the two-dose MMR, or measles, mumps, and rubella, vaccine.

Children under a year old, who are typically too young to receive the first dose of the vaccine, are highly susceptible.

Through a robust vaccination campaign, measles was declared to be effectively eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, according to the CDC. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-vaccination sentiment began to rise, and measles cases have surged over the past  two years.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is an outspoken vaccine skeptic and has opposed vaccine mandates. Under Kennedy, the agency has called into question the safety and efficacy of vaccines and  recommended fewer vaccines for children. The move has prompted most states to unlink their vaccine guidance from federal recommendations and form their own health alliances and standards.

Combined with efforts by Republican-leaning states to weaken vaccine mandates, the federal shift has contributed to a decline in the vaccination rate among kindergarteners and a resulting increase in measles cases.

According to health policy research group KFF, 92.4% of kindergartners received the MMR vaccination for the 2025-2026 school year, compared with 95% in the 2019-2020 school year. During the last school year, 39 states had MMR vaccination rates below 95% — the minimum considered necessary to prevent community spread, according to KFF.

Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois Chicago praised governors for taking action to stop the spread of measles. But Wallace said it’s critical that the federal government encourage people to get vaccinated to slow the spread of the disease.

“There really isn’t a national promotion of ‘Hey, we’re having an outbreak right now. Please vaccinate your kids. The MMR is safe and effective, and it prevents measles.’ That’s not being pumped out on social media. That’s not being put on TV,” Wallace said. “So this administration is not promoting the best tool that we have to prevent severe disease from viruses.”

Nationally, the CDC reports that 352 people have been hospitalized this year due to measles. Of the 3,887 confirmed cases, 61% are people younger than 19 and 95% were not vaccinated or had an unknown vaccine status.

According to CDC data, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Wisconsin, Texas, and Virginia are experiencing the highest number of cases.

The rise in cases under Kennedy’s leadership has prompted Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to call for the secretary’s ouster.

“He’s making it harder for governors to be able to keep people safe in our communities. I’m actually shocked that the president is letting him get away with this,” Shapiro said in a recent NBC News interview. “I don’t know why he’s still allowing him to even serve in the role”.

Stateline reporter Shalina Chatlani can be reached at schatlani@stateline.org.

This story was originally published by WPSU. 

Amid a growing measles outbreak, Pennsylvania officials reported the third measles-related death in the state so far this year in Jefferson County.

Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong confirmed the death of a 40-year-old female Jefferson County resident in a social media post early Sunday morning. Furlong said no further details will be shared.

“This is a heartbreaking loss for the family and an unfortunate reminder that measles can be a serious and potentially life-threatening disease,” Furlong said.

Jefferson County’s Chief Deputy Coroner and Public Relations Officer Jason Stiver said that severe illness with measles is uncommon. Still, he said, people should not take the disease lightly. Stiver urged people to recognize early symptoms and consult with healthcare providers.

“This tragedy highlights that measles should not be taken lightly,” Stiver said. “Public health measures, early recognition of symptoms, and consultation with healthcare providers are important tools in protecting our community.”

The previous two measles-related deaths happened in Lancaster County, where a large portion of the state’s measles cases are reported.

As the outbreak grows across the state, Pennsylvania’s Department of Health is leading a vaccination campaign against the disease. DOH administered more than 3,500 MMR vaccines last month and nearly 1,000 this month.

According to the most recent data posted to a public dashboard, there are 676 total measles cases so far this year in Pennsylvania.

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Every August, families in our state settle into familiar routines: filling backpacks with school supplies, scheduling sports physicals and wondering how summer disappeared so quickly. But before the first school bell rings, every family should put one more item on its checklist: making sure everyone — including children, parents and grandparents — is up to date on recommended vaccinations.

That message takes on new urgency with the recent measles outbreak in our state, and President Trump’s executive order calling for significant changes to the nation’s childhood vaccine recommendations, including splitting the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine across separate visits. The order comes amid renewed claims linking childhood vaccines to autism — claims repeatedly contradicted by decades of scientific research.

As vaccine-preventable diseases resurge, Wisconsinites should follow the evidence and trusted medical expertise while making it easier — not harder — for families to protect their children.

All of this is especially fitting during National Immunization Awareness Month. Vaccines are one of the few health decisions that protect not only the individual but those around us as well. Infants, older adults, cancer patients and neighbors with weakened immune systems all benefit when more of us are protected.

Unfortunately, our state is already moving in the wrong direction. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports that only 66.9% of children reaching 24 months of age received the recommended routine vaccine series in 2025, down from 68.8% the year before. MMR vaccination rates among 2-year-olds have fallen below 80%, well below the approximately 95% coverage public health experts say is needed to prevent measles from spreading in a community.

This summer, the United States surpassed 2,700 measles cases, the highest total in 35 years. The overwhelming majority occurred among people who were unvaccinated, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Clark and Vernon counties had kindergarten MMR vaccination rates of just 44% and 50%, respectively, creating pockets where a single imported case could quickly spark a local outbreak.

Children are only part of the story. Protection against some diseases fades over time, which is why adults also need routine vaccinations. Many adults remain behind on their recommended flu, COVID-19, Tdap, RSV, pneumococcal and hepatitis B vaccinations. Staying current helps prevent serious illness and hospitalization, particularly among older adults and people with chronic health conditions.

And vaccination isn’t a rural issue or an urban issue — it’s a Wisconsin issue.

Whether you live in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Eau Claire, Platteville, Kenosha or a small town in between, viruses don’t recognize county lines or political boundaries. An outbreak in one community can quickly spread to another, disrupting families, straining health care workers and increasing costs for everyone.

Parents and adults deserve facts — not fear. They deserve public health recommendations grounded in evidence rather than unproven claims. Decades of research have found no credible evidence that vaccines cause autism, and the combined MMR vaccine has been safely used for generations.

The federal government may be changing its approach, but states still have a critical role in protecting public health. My hope is that Wisconsin will do the right thing: follow the evidence, listen to physicians and public health experts and ensure our children continue to have access to vaccinations based on sound medical evidence.

Families should rely on conversations with trusted physicians, nurses, pharmacists and local public health professionals rather than on misinformation circulating online.

As another school year begins, make vaccinations part of your family’s back-to-school routine, and don’t forget the adults in your life. Check immunization records through the Wisconsin Immunization Registry and ask your health care provider which vaccines are recommended for every member of your family.

The healthiest thing Wisconsin students can carry into school this year isn’t in a backpack. It’s the protection that comes from a community committed to keeping one another healthy and from public health decisions grounded in science.

Rob Gundermann is president and CEO of the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging & Health Groups (CWAG).

Guest opinion: As vaccine guidance shifts, Wisconsin families should follow the evidence is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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A measles outbreak in the southwestern corner of Wisconsin continues to grow.

As of Friday, the state Department of Health Services has identified 41 confirmed and 7 probable cases across Iowa, Lafayette and Grant counties.

All but one of the people infected with measles in Wisconsin this year have been unvaccinated, according to state data. Just over half of the cases have been in children and teens, while 44% are in adults.

State and local health officials are working to stop the highly-contagious virus from spreading further. But that work is being made more complicated by low vaccination rates in some communities.

DHS spokesperson Jennifer Miller said in an email that while the situation remains fluid, “we are seeing confirmed cases in pockets of our communities where individuals are under-vaccinated or unvaccinated.”  

“Whenever there are pockets of lower immunization coverage — whether due to geographic location, health care access, or personal reasons — highly contagious viruses can spread quickly,” Miller wrote.

Like the rest of the U.S., childhood vaccination rates have fallen in Wisconsin as parents’ uncertainty, and in some cases skepticism, around vaccines has spread in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

But state data shows some of the southwestern communities have had declining uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine series well before pandemic. 

Only 60% of two-year-olds in Lafayette County had received one or more of the shots in 2025. Grant County’s rate was just under 64%.

Iowa County, where the majority of the recent measles cases have been located, had a rate similar to the statewide average at nearly 81%. But it’s still well below the threshold needed to prevent an outbreak at 95%.

Plain community may be affected

One community in the region that may be affected by lower vaccination rates are the Amish and Mennonite faith groups. The Christian communities are collectively known as Plain people because of their selective use of modern technology and conservative style of clothes.

Wisconsin has the fourth-largest Amish population of any state in the country, with an estimated 27, 535 Amish people living in the state as of 2025. The population data from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania shows more than 3,000 Amish live across Grant, Lafayette and Iowa counties.

Mark Louden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of Germanic linguistics, is an interpreter and cultural liaison for the state’s Plain communities. He said the Plain people in Grant and Lafayette Counties have strong family ties to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. 

“There’s a lot of back and forth, just like people traveling back and forth, visiting and so forth, especially this time of year,” he said.

Lancaster County is home to the largest Amish settlement in the U.S. and is at the center of a major outbreak of measles that has sickened more than 300 people in Pennsylvania.

Louden said that while Amish and Mennonites have community standards for technology, health care choices are left up to individuals and their families.

“Even the most conservative or traditional groups out there do access Western healthcare,” Louden said. “While there may be some families that have their kids not vaccinated at all, that’s pretty exceptional.”

Louden characterized Plain communities as “vaccine cautious.” He said they’re more likely to choose which shots they want their children to get instead of just following a recommended vaccination schedule.

But he said their caution or even distrust of vaccines doesn’t just come from their cultural beliefs.

“(It) has been amplified by what they hear from their non-Plain neighbors, who are going down internet rabbit holes and watching certain networks,” Louden said.

Jack Sauer, chair of the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors, said like many places in the U.S., his county used to have higher rates of vaccination. But he questioned how much national rhetoric that questions childhood vaccinations, including from leaders of President Donald Trump’s administration, have had an impact.

“If you listen to anyone on the federal level, there’s a lot of going back and forth on whether the immunizations are good for you or bad for your or whatever they are,” Sauer said. “But I know when I was growing up, which was a long time ago, they were pretty well acceptable.”

Given the rapid spread of cases in neighboring Iowa County, he expects to see more cases in his county before the outbreak is over.

Iowa County Health Officer Debbie Siegenthaler said in an email that her department is working to identify cases and potential exposures and make sure people have access to testing and vaccination.

She strongly encouraged residents to check their vaccination status through the Wisconsin Immunization Registry or through their healthcare provider, especially as children head back to school.

“With increasing number of cases, we want residents to be aware of measles even if they have not been notified of a direct exposure,” Siegenthaler said in the email.

The county is holding a community vaccination clinic at the Mineral Point Rescue Squad office on Monday, Aug. 24 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

This story was originally published by WPR.

Low vaccination rates drive southwest Wisconsin measles outbreak is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.