New York state reports first measles-linked child death in over 30 years amid outbreak
The New York State Department of Health said on Monday that a child in Lewis County had died in connection with an ongoing measles outbreak, marking the state's first known measles-associated death in more than 30 years.
Last month, Governor Kathy Hochul declared a State Disaster Emergency in response to the measles outbreak across areas of New York and neighbouring states.
"The Department has offered resources to Lewis County to assist with community outreach and support local vaccination efforts – both in response to this case, and as part of our ongoing efforts to support counties that are facing this ongoing measles outbreak," the state department said.
The death comes as the US experiences its worst measles resurgence in decades.
Hochul told Reuters in October that the state would seek federal assistance to help contain the outbreak, but did not confirm whether it had submitted a formal request for a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Service, or Epi-Aid, response.
As of October 24, New York had reported 178 measles cases this year, including 170 cases outside New York City and 8 cases in New York City.
State health officials said they were working with county health departments and local partners to provide measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations to unvaccinated individuals who request them and to investigate reported cases.
"At New York’s request, CDC has deployed epidemiologists and other experts to work alongside state health officials on the ground, providing surveillance, data analysis, strategic planning, and other outbreak response support," the US Department of Health and Human Services told Reuters in an emailed statement.
The CDC has recorded three measles-related deaths this year, but did not name the states where they occurred.
Pennsylvania has been the epicenter of the outbreak this year, reporting 1,433 confirmed cases and five measles-associated deaths so far this year.
The gap in numbers follows a policy shift under US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with the CDC switching to the National Center for Health Statistics' mortality data to track measles deaths, replacing its earlier reliance on state health departments' figures.
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