20-Year-Old Amish Woman Dies of Measles in Pennsylvania's Largest Outbreak in Three Decades

A 20-year-old Amish woman with leukemia has died of pneumonia caused by measles — the deadliest case yet in Pennsylvania's largest measles outbreak in three decades, now the nation's largest, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The woman, a newlywed who was receiving treatment for blood cancer, was the last of nine siblings sickened when measles swept through her unvaccinated family's home on a one-lane road in Lancaster County, according to her maternal grandmother. At first, home remedies meant to ease measles symptoms — soaking in baths for fever, coconut or olive oil for the rash, and a darkened room for light sensitivity — seemed to help. But when she struggled to breathe and needed to sleep sitting up in a recliner, the family hired a driver to take her to Hershey Medical Center, about an hour away, in keeping with Amish customs around cars.

She died about two weeks later in the intensive care unit after developing double pneumonia, her grandmother said. The family ultimately decided to discontinue use of a ventilator. At the grandmother's request, the Inquirer withheld her name and that of her granddaughter to protect the family's privacy.

Pennsylvania's measles outbreak underscores the vulnerability of unvaccinated communities, particularly when a highly contagious disease like measles intersects with underlying health conditions. Measles can cause severe complications including pneumonia, encephalitis, and death, especially in immunocompromised individuals.

Reporting by The Philadelphia Inquirer. Read the original report: A 20-year-old Amish woman with leukemia died in the state's largest measles outbreak in decades.