The US Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., stated that Pennsylvania officials may have fabricated alleged measles-related death cases. The Pennsylvania Department of Health and Governor Josh Shapiro announced on Wednesday that the state had recorded its first measles-related death case in 35 years.
Kennedy expressed skepticism, suggesting that the announcement might have been premature and that the death cases could have been concocted by an eager staffer of the governor. Lancaster County Coroner, Steve Diamantoni, confirmed that his office had no record of any measles-related death cases, as required by state law for all measles-related deaths to be reported to the coroner.
Diamantoni informed the media that his office had dealt with a case of an infant who died shortly after birth, determining that the primary cause of death was a ruptured spleen. The pathologist conducting the autopsy concluded that the death was unrelated to measles, and investigations are ongoing regarding the cause of the spleen rupture.
Kennedy also criticized Pennsylvania officials for not providing information on these death cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to information released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, both deceased individuals tested positive for measles before their deaths and had not been vaccinated. One of the deceased was an infant, as mentioned in Coroner Diamantoni’s statements.
The Department of Health in Pennsylvania explained that the term “measles-related” is used for deaths where there is laboratory or epidemiological evidence of measles, but medical professionals or coroners may not have classified it as a direct cause of death.
Health Secretary Debra Bogen, a physician with over 30 years of experience in pediatrics, conducted a thorough review of the case information and reported to the CDC’s measles response team on Tuesday about the two recent measles-related deaths in Lancaster County.
Aside from confirming that the deceased tested positive for measles and were unvaccinated, Pennsylvania officials did not disclose further details about the second death case. Bogen emphasized that not all death cases are required to be referred to the coroner under Pennsylvania law but highlighted that cases involving infectious diseases posing a public hazard should be investigated by the coroner.
These two deaths are the first reported measles-related death cases in the United States this year. Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons, a Republican who first quoted the Coroner’s statement, urged for transparency regarding the information related to the infant death, stating it was “carrying” measles, not “dying from” measles. He also called for state officials to release information on the second measles-related death case.
“Residents of Lancaster County deserve to know the truth and understand whether there are indeed two measles-related death cases,” Parsons wrote in his statement.