A baby in southwestern Wisconsin has died of measles, the state's first death from the disease in 36 years, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced Thursday.
A coroner listed measles as the immediate cause of death. The department did not say exactly where the child lived and declined to release more information, citing the family's privacy.
The death comes during Wisconsin's worst measles year in more than three and a half decades. Officials have counted 431 infections spread across 13 counties, and nine patients were hospitalized with severe symptoms.
Health Services Secretary Kirsten Johnson said her heart was broken for the family. She urged residents to assess their own exposure risk and take steps to shield their households.
Any death of a child is a tragedy and even more so when it is related to a vaccine-preventable disease.
Kirsten Johnson, Wisconsin Department of Health Services secretary
State officials said the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine offers the best protection. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has said that Secretary Kennedy and CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz regard the MMR shot as the most effective way to prevent the disease.
Measles can trigger dangerous complications such as pneumonia and brain swelling. Anyone can become seriously ill, but the department said the danger is greatest for kids under age 5, people who are expecting and those with compromised immunity.
Wisconsin's loss followed by days the death of a child in Lewis County, New York, that state's first known measles-associated death in over 30 years. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was heartbroken by the news.
Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded four measles-associated deaths this year, a figure below what state health departments have tallied. Pennsylvania alone has confirmed six such deaths in 2026 and is reviewing another that has not yet met its criteria.
