Experts say measles death counts are muddled by 'with' vs 'of' debate

Public health scientists note that Pennsylvania reported two measles‑related deaths in August, but the county coroner described one infant as having died "with" measles rather than "from" the disease, attributing the fatality to a ruptured spleen.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initially left all four Pennsylvania deaths out of its national measles update, marking the deaths column with an asterisk. Later the agency added one of the cases to its data but still omitted the remaining three.

In her first interview as CDC director, Erica Schwartz was asked about the exclusion and referenced the earlier Covid discussion about "died with" versus "died of" infections, suggesting a similar framing challenge.

The authors argue that concentrating on the wording of cause‑of‑death distracts from the broader cascade of factors that lead to mortality, and they call for clearer communication about measles risks.