On Thursday, Nov. 5, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced that an infant has died of measles amid the ongoing outbreak in the southwestern region of the state.

This marks the first measles-related death in the state in more than 35 years.

“It is with a heavy heart we are reporting the first death of an infant connected with a measles outbreak in Wisconsin in many years. My heart is broken for the family,” DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson said in a release. “Any death of a child is a tragedy and even more so when it is related to a vaccine-preventable disease. Measles can cause serious illness and death, and it is important for all Wisconsinites to evaluate their risk and take steps to protect themselves and their family.”

There have been at least two more measles-related deaths reported this week.

On Wednesday, Nov. 4, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that an unvaccinated resident died after contracting measles — the sixth person in the state to die of the infectious disease this year.

Additionally, on Monday, Nov. 2, the New York State Department of Health and Lewis County Public Health announced in a joint statement that a child died of measles, marking “the first known measles-associated death in New York State in more than 30 years.”

Measles cases in the U.S. have hit a 35-year high as vaccination coverage drops well below levels that would help halt the spread of the virus. As of Oct. 30, there have been 4,852 confirmed cases of the wildly infectious illness, per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. That more than doubles the number of cases in all of 2025. And in 2024, there were only 285 cases.