On Monday, 19 October 2026, the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued a clinician advisory on measles in pregnancy and on congenital measles. In the same statement, the department reported 1,286 confirmed cases in 42 counties so far this year.

Since 16 October, 26 new cases have been recorded. 247 people have been hospitalised. Five deaths are confirmed as measles-associated. Ars Technica writes that a sixth reported death is still under investigation and has not yet been added to the state tally.

Health alert PAHAN-842 says congenital measles has been identified “for the first time in decades”. The department did not publish a count of newborns with that form of the disease.

Measles in pregnancy raises the risk of hospitalisation, miscarriage, preterm labour and low birth weight. Newborns infected before or during birth can become severely ill. The MMR vaccine, a live attenuated shot, is not given during pregnancy; pregnancy should be avoided for 28 days after vaccination.

Non-immune pregnant women exposed to the virus should receive intravenous immunoglobulin within six days. Newborns whose mothers had measles symptoms through 14 days after rash onset are considered exposed and may transmit the infection. Clinicians must evaluate them, isolate them empirically and report suspected cases immediately to 877-PA-HEALTH.

A CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service officer arrived in Harrisburg on Monday, after an Epi-Aid request filed on 7 October. The federal help is for epidemiological modelling; it does not replace the 1,286-case tally announced by the state department.

Vaccination before pregnancy remains the protection the authorities recommend. Pop-up clinics and state health centres have together given more than 9,700 MMR doses in 2026. In September, providers across the state administered more than 56,000 doses, against about 25,000 in a typical month.

Image: Health and Welfare Building, Harrisburg, 18 September 2010, Niagara, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The office building, not a maternity ward and not a child.

Sources consulted: Pennsylvania issues alert on congenital measles—something US hasn't seen for decades — Ars Technica; Pennsylvania Department of Health Provides Statewide Update on Measles Outbreak as Cases Reach 1,286 in 42 Counties — Pennsylvania DOH; Guidance for measles in pregnancy and congenital measles — PAHAN-842.