A child in Lewis County has died after contracting measles, the first New York measles death in more than 30 years. The New York State Department of Health and Lewis County Public Health announced the death on Monday, November 2, in a joint statement.
Officials have not released the child’s age or name, or whether the child had been vaccinated. “We are deeply saddened by the death of a child in Lewis County associated with the ongoing measles outbreak,” the two agencies said in the statement. They asked the public to respect the family’s privacy.
New York is now at least the fourth state with a measles death since early 2025. The death comes one month into a state disaster emergency, as case counts in rural upstate counties keep climbing.
Hochul: “I cannot imagine what this family is going through”
Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was heartbroken. “As a mother and grandmother, I cannot imagine what this family is going through,” she said in a statement. “My heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved this child.”
She also blamed the federal government. Hochul called the death “a devastating reminder of what’s at stake when Washington deliberately erodes decades of progress in protecting Americans from preventable illnesses.” Her statement did not name a specific federal policy.
The state health department has offered Lewis County help with community outreach and local vaccination, according to the statement. “Vaccination is the best protection against measles,” the joint statement said.
New York’s count rose by 70 cases in three weeks
Lewis County has reported 15 measles cases this year, WRVO reported, citing the county’s dashboard. That is the fourth-highest total among upstate counties. Seneca County leads with 30, followed by Otsego and Steuben.
The statewide count has climbed fast. When Hochul declared the emergency on October 5, the state counted 108 cases: 101 outside New York City and 7 in the city. By October 24 the total had reached 178, with 170 outside New York City and 8 in the city, the state health department said in its November 2 statement.
The CDC lists New York City as its own jurisdiction. Its October 29 data shows 168 cases in New York State outside the city and 7 in the city. Federal and state counts run on different schedules, so they rarely match exactly.
The executive order lets paramedics, advanced EMS providers, pharmacists and midwives give the MMR vaccine. It also allows nurses to order testing. As written, it runs through November 4.
How measles kills: lungs first, then the brain
Measles starts with high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes, 7 to 14 days after exposure, according to the CDC. The rash follows 3 to 5 days later, and the fever can spike above 104°F.
When measles kills, it usually does so through the lungs or the brain. As many as 1 in 20 children with measles gets pneumonia, which the CDC calls “the most common cause of death from measles in young children.” In Texas in 2025, doctors blamed a second child’s death on “measles pulmonary failure,” state health officials said.
Encephalitis, a swelling of the brain, develops in about 1 of every 1,000 children who get measles, the CDC says. It can cause convulsions and leave a child deaf or with an intellectual disability. Overall, nearly 1 to 3 of every 1,000 infected children die from respiratory and neurologic complications.
Two dangers come later. Measles can damage the immune cells that remember germs the body has already fought, an effect researchers call immune amnesia. That damage might last months or even a few years, the CDC says, leaving people more open to other infections.
The rarest is subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE, a fatal disease of the central nervous system. It generally appears 7 to 10 years after someone seems to have fully recovered. The CDC says the risk may be higher for children who catch measles before age 2.
There is no specific treatment for measles, the World Health Organization says. Doctors treat dehydration and give antibiotics for pneumonia and ear or eye infections. WHO recommends two doses of vitamin A for children under 5 with suspected measles. It estimates 95,000 people died of measles worldwide in 2024, mostly children under 5.
Who is most at risk, and when children get the MMR
The CDC lists four groups most likely to suffer complications. They are children under 5, adults over 20, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems, such as from leukemia or HIV. About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the US who get measles ends up in the hospital.
This year’s national figures show the same pattern. Of the 4,852 US cases the CDC had counted by October 29, 11% led to a hospital stay. Children under 5 had the highest hospitalization rate, at 16%. Among all cases, 96% involved unvaccinated people or people of unknown vaccination status.
The CDC recommends the first MMR dose at 12 to 15 months and the second at 4 to 6 years. One dose is 93% effective against measles and two doses are 97% effective, according to the CDC’s vaccination page. New York State says infants 6 to 11 months old can get an early dose before travel or if they are otherwise at risk of exposure.
Adults need at least one documented dose, the CDC says. Our guide to checking your MMR record explains who needs a second shot and where to find old vaccine records. One pharmacy visit can also cover a flu shot in what has been an unusually early flu season.
The US measles toll since 2025
We checked state health department releases for each US measles death announced since 2025:
- Texas, announced February 26, 2025: an unvaccinated school-aged child hospitalized in Lubbock during the West Texas outbreak, the state health department said.
- New Mexico, announced March 2025: an unvaccinated Lea County adult who tested positive for measles after death and had not sought medical care, the New Mexico Department of Health said. The official cause of death was then still under investigation.
- Texas, announced April 6, 2025: a second unvaccinated school-aged child, with no reported underlying conditions.
- Pennsylvania, 2026: five confirmed measles-associated deaths as of October 16, the state health department said. It was also investigating a death in Franklin County.
- New York, announced November 2, 2026: the Lewis County child.
The CDC’s own count, as of October 29, is three deaths in 2025 and five in 2026. The CDC posted that figure before New York’s announcement. It does not say which states its 2026 deaths come from.
Hochul’s emergency order expires on November 4 unless she extends it. The CDC’s next weekly update, built on data reported by noon Thursday, will show whether the Lewis County death has entered the federal count.