In late August, a 20‑year‑old Amish woman from Lancaster County, who was receiving chemotherapy for leukemia, contracted measles and died two weeks later at Hershey Medical Center. Her death marks the fifth measles‑related fatality reported in Pennsylvania, the state’s largest outbreak in three decades and the nation’s biggest in recent years.
Family illness and hospital course
The woman was the second oldest of nine siblings, all of whom fell ill after measles spread through their unvaccinated household. Home remedies—bath soaks for fever, coconut or olive oil for rash, and dark rooms for light sensitivity—provided temporary relief, but her condition worsened. According to her maternal grandmother, the patient’s fever spiked, breathing became labored, and she required a recliner to stay upright.
Because the family does not drive, they hired a driver to transport her to the emergency department at Hershey Medical Center, about an hour from their farm. Initial chest X‑ray results were not reviewed, and she was sent home. A later voicemail from a Hershey provider prompted a return visit on September 14, when an ultrasound revealed fluid in and around her lungs. She was diagnosed with double pneumonia and placed on supplemental oxygen.
Within a week she was moved to the intensive care unit, sedated, and placed on a ventilator. Family members were limited to two at a time at her bedside. After a week of intensive care, the family elected to discontinue life‑support measures, including the ventilator and oxygen, citing concerns about potential neurological complications. She died with a breathing tube still in place.
Vaccination barriers and public health context
Prior to infection, the patient asked her doctor for a measles vaccine, but was denied because the live‑attenuated vaccine is contraindicated for individuals undergoing chemotherapy and steroids, which further weakened her immune system. The grandmother explained that while the family is not opposed to vaccination on religious grounds, many Amish individuals choose not to vaccinate because they are uncertain about vaccine contents.
State health officials confirmed five measles‑related deaths, all among unvaccinated individuals. In addition to the 20‑year‑old, deaths included an 18‑year‑old Amish woman from Mifflin County, a 40‑year‑old from Jefferson County with severe respiratory issues, and two Amish infants in Lancaster County. Three of the five fatalities were adults, a pattern highlighted by Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who noted that “we’re aging out a population that was never vaccinated.”
Offit explained that measles can reproduce in the lungs, leading to severe pneumonia and, in some cases, death. The outbreak underscores the heightened vulnerability of immunocompromised patients and adults who missed childhood vaccination.
Community response and funeral
More than 300 community members attended the funeral held at a family cemetery near the farmhouse. The woman had been newly married; her wedding a month earlier featured a festive spread of chicken, vegetables, pickled cabbage, and celery. Her grandmother recalled the bride’s “rosy pink cheeks” and “beautiful smile” on that day.
The family’s farm, set among rolling clover fields and dairy operations, saw a temporary pause in daily chores as relatives gathered to mourn. Two black dogs with hay‑laden coats greeted a reporter, while other family members unloaded cornstalks from a horse‑drawn wagon.
Health officials have not released additional personal details due to privacy laws, but the grandmother’s account provides a stark illustration of the lethal potential of measles for those with compromised immunity.
Steve Lopez is a Senior Editorial Columnist and Health & Public Policy reporter for News Raise. Steve focuses on healthcare advancements, medical technologies, and public health policies.
