Pennsylvania has now reported a fourth death connected to measles. The latest was an 18-year-old resident of Mifflin County, in the center of the state, who died from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, a rare and severe neurological complication of measles. The Mifflin County coroner's office disclosed the death in a Facebook post.
The name takes some unpacking. In plain terms, it is a severe inflammatory response that spreads through the nervous system. Measles is among the infections known to trigger it. The coroner's office described the complication as rare and severe.
What this actually says is that measles can, in uncommon cases, reach beyond its more recognizable effects and cause dangerous neurological damage. The 18-year-old from Mifflin County died from that damage.
Pennsylvania officials have now recorded four deaths in the state associated with measles. The most recent report came from the Mifflin County coroner's office, which serves the county at the geographic center of Pennsylvania.