Why are some people confused about whether a newborn baby in Pennsylvania died with or from measles?
The usual suspects…
An Update on the Baby Who Died From Measles in Pennsylvania
And even as we get further details, anti-vaccine influencers are still pushing the idea that there haven’t been any measles deaths in Pennsylvania, even as their outbreak grows.
What details?
“One father in the epicenter of the outbreak said his infant son died after his pregnant wife, infected with measles, went into labor a month early.”
Pregnant women among those sickened in Pennsylvania measles outbreak
Well, we now know that:
he was a newborn baby that died at a birthing center
the baby tested positive for measles, with the measles virus in the baby’s lung tissue
the baby had a lacerated spleen, with a lot of bleeding, which could very well be due to the measles infection, which can affect the spleen
the baby was premature, which could certainly have been triggered by the mother having measles. In fact, when measles was endemic, prematurity was one of the leading fetal complications of measles in pregnancy.
What else?
“Further complicating matters, Dr. Diamantoni, a Republican who was last elected county coroner in 2023, said the pathologist who performed the autopsy did not determine measles to be a cause of death nor did he find evidence of an enlarged spleen.
Mr. Ruhland [spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Health] said that in a measles-related death, the virus is not necessarily listed as the immediate cause of death, even though the infection may be a contributing factor. He compared it to a death from a drug overdose: The immediate cause of death may be respiratory or cardiac failure, but the overdose contributed.”
Controversy Erupts Over Pennsylvania Measles Deaths
The Lancaster County Coroner has now admitted that “measles was listed under Part II of the infant’s death certificate,” which means that the forensic pathologist believed it at least contributed to the baby’s death.
Also, the elected Lancaster County Coroner (R has offered no other explanation for the baby’s lacerated spleen or death, only to be adamant that it was not measles.
What about the idea that you can’t label a newborn baby as being unvaccinated, as the earliest they can get an MMR vaccine is when they are six months old?
Well, you wouldn’t expect folks like Will Cain, Eric Daugherty, or other MAHA apologists to understand this, but a newborn would be protected if their mother had been immune - either by being vaccinated or if they had a previous natural measles infection before pregnancy.
So an ‘unvaccinated’ baby could get measles as a newborn because their mother wasn’t immune, either never having measles or never getting an MMR vaccine.
Bottom line - measles is a life-threatening disease, and measles outbreaks are growing out of control. Get vaccinated. Stop the outbreaks.
More on Measles and the MMR Vaccine
What We Know About Pennsylvania’s Two ‘Measles-Associated’ Deaths
Pregnant women among those sickened in Pennsylvania measles outbreak
Pa. officials cite 2 ‘measles-associated deaths’ in Lancaster County, but the coroner there counts 0
Politicizing measles doesn’t help Lancaster County residents or the effort to get people vaccinated
Measles in pregnancy: maternal morbidity and perinatal outcome
Even if measles didnt cause splenomegaly or laceration/rupture and the main trigger was a rough/difficult delivery by the midwife, it's well established that measles virus downregulates Factor VII and Factor XI which has a direct result on delaying and impeding coagulation which would be devastating for a baby with a splenic laceration/rupture.