Lancaster County coroner rules 6-week-old Amish infant died of measles as Pennsylvania outbreak hits 577 cases
Lancaster County coroner rules 6-week-old Amish infant died of measles as Pennsylvania outbreak hits 577 cases
AMISH, Pennsylvania — LANCASTER, Pa. — A 6-week-old Amish girl too young to be vaccinated died of measles in Lancaster County on Aug.
Cases and health response
Kennedy Jr. over whether Pennsylvania has recorded any measles deaths at all. Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni announced the finding Friday.
The infant had Amish lethal microcephaly, a genetic condition that leaves babies with underdeveloped brains and that occurs in about one of every 500 births in Amish communities, Diamantoni said.
Children born with it are placed on palliative care from birth and typically live five or six months, he said, and most die of respiratory infections.
The ruling lands as the state Department of Health reported 577 confirmed cases in 37 counties on Friday — 80 more than the week before, and 37 more than the 540 the department reported days earlier.
Ninety-eight people have been hospitalized. Every confirmed case is in someone who did not receive both recommended doses of the MMR vaccine, the department said.
Outbreak background
18, the county coroner said, resolving part of a two-week dispute between Gov. Josh Shapiro and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.
