Oct 13 (Reuters) – The US CDC said on Tuesday it would deploy additional support to Pennsylvania to help investigate the ongoing measles outbreak, as the state formally requested federal assistance through the agency’s Epi-Aid emergency response program.
Pennsylvania health officials have reported 1,136 measles cases and five deaths linked to the outbreak this year as of October 9. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported two measles-associated deaths nationwide in 2026, as of October 8.
The differing death counts have fueled a public dispute between Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose department oversees the CDC, over how measles-associated deaths should be defined and counted.
The agency said in a statement it would work with local health officials to investigate the outbreak, strengthen response efforts and prevent spread.
“Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, Kansas, New Mexico, and Wisconsin requested CDC Epi-Aids and worked alongside federal teams to help bring their outbreaks rapidly and successfully under control,” the agency said.
(Reporting by Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das and Shilpi Majumdar)
Comments