Trump administration changes how it counts measles deaths amid Pennsylvania outbreak

CDC announces changes to how it reports measles deaths as Pennsylvania continues to confirm more cases

The Trump administration has changed the way it counts measles deaths amid an outbreak in Pennsylvania, which on Sunday saw the third apparent measles-related death in the state reported by a local coroner.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now using data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), which is a way to track mortality trends over time, according to a note published to the agency’s website on 4 September.

It’s a “puzzling” move, said Debra Houry, a former CDC chief medical officer. “The change doesn’t make any sense,” she added. This system is “not meant to confirm an individual case”; instead, it’s “usually focused on high-quality, long-term mortality trend analysis”, she said.

Previously, the CDC used a system called the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS), which the agency has described as the supply chain for data from local jurisdictions and states to the federal government.

“CDC will report measles deaths if and when the National Center for Health Statistics reports measles as the underlying cause of death,” said Emily Hilliard, a US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson.

The CDC put an asterisk under its tally of deaths that leads to a note saying the NCHS “does not currently have any death records from 2026 that indicate measles is the underlying cause”.

Officials in Pennsylvania have confirmed two deaths this year, a newborn and a six-week-old infant, associated with measles. And a 40-year-old woman in Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, died on Saturday from probable measles, said Greg Furlong, the county’s coroner.

The woman was unvaccinated and she had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with 24/7 oxygen support, both of which made her vulnerable to complications. The woman had not sought medical care for her apparent infection. “They were going to, but obviously got to the point where it turned to the worst and ultimately led to her death,” Furlong said.

She had the classic measles rash and other symptoms, and a close contact had recently tested positive for measles.

A nasal swab is undergoing testing for measles and results are expected within days. But the death will be classified as probable measles-related because of the epidemiological connection to a confirmed case, Furlong said.

The woman would not have died without the measles case, despite her conditions, the coroner said.

“None of us know when our last day is here on this Earth,” he said. “But I strongly 100% believe if this wouldn’t have come into her life that she would be alive today,” he said, adding: “Even with her underlying conditions, I believe she’d be alive today.”

Maintaining a measles immunization rate of at least 95% is “absolutely” important for protecting people who are vulnerable to infection, Furlong said. That’s especially true for those who can’t be vaccinated, like infants under the age of six months and pregnant people.