Wisconsin health officials said Thursday that an infant died of measles, the first measles death recorded in the state since 1990^1,2,3,4.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services said the death was associated with an ongoing measles outbreak in the southwestern or southern part of the state^2,3,4. TMJ4 reported that a coroner listed measles as the immediate cause of death³.

DHS did not release the infant's exact age, sex, location or vaccination status, citing family privacy^3,4. ABC News did not report those details¹.

As of Tuesday, Nov. 3, DHS reported 431 measles cases in 13 counties in 2026, the highest number in more than 35 years^2,3,4. WISN said 428 of those cases were in people who were not vaccinated⁴. TMJ4 said at least nine people have been hospitalized³.

WISN said most cases were in Grant, Iowa, Lafayette, Vernon and Chippewa counties, with additional cases in Marathon, Jackson, Buffalo, Richland, Marquette, Dane, Rock and Waukesha counties⁴.

ABC News said the Wisconsin death brought to eight the number of measles deaths reported by state health departments nationwide: six in Pennsylvania, one in New York and one in Wisconsin¹. The other outlets did not report that national tally^2,3,4.

DHS Secretary Kirsten Johnson said any child's death is a tragedy, "even more so when it is related to a vaccine-preventable disease"^2,4. DHS said two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing measles^2,4.

What remains unknown includes the infant's vaccination status, the county of the death, and whether ABC's nationwide count of eight deaths matches CDC figures^1,3,4.

Not medical advice.