An infant in Wisconsin has died from measles, marking the state's first measles-related death in more than three decades, The Washington Post reports. The death is tied to an ongoing outbreak in southwestern Wisconsin, according to Channel 3000.
The case is also the third measles-related death in the United States this week, CNN reports. ABC News reports that Wisconsin health officials have now recorded an eighth measles-related death in the state.
MPR News notes that the child's death is Wisconsin's first from measles since 1990, underscoring how unusual a fatality from the disease has become in the state in recent decades.
The reporting does not include the infant's age beyond infancy, the date of death, or further details about the cases counted in the state's total. It also does not specify the vaccination status of the child or the size of the current outbreak.
Measles is a highly contagious viral illness, and the cluster of deaths reported within a single week across the country has drawn attention to the outbreak in Wisconsin. State health officials have not, in the reporting summarized here, outlined additional response measures.
What to watch next: whether Wisconsin health officials release further details on the outbreak's scope and on any additional cases linked to it.
