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Child dies in raging Upstate New York measles outbreak
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Nov 3, 2026 at 11:52 a.m. ET
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Prot Tachapanit/Getty Images
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Nov 3, 2026 at 11:52 a.m. ET
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A child in Lewis County has died from the measles, marking the first death from the disease in New York state in 30 years, state health officials announced.
State and county health officials did not offer additional details about the child who died. In a joint statement, they called for privacy for the child’s family.
The death comes as the highly contagious disease continues to spread through undervaccinated communities upstate in an outbreak that prompted Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a state disaster emergency last month.
“I am heartbroken to learn that a child in Lewis County has died after contracting measles,” Hochul said in a statement Monday evening. “As a mother and grandmother, I cannot imagine what this family is going through.”
The measles is a highly contagious disease that typically brings on symptoms such as a runny nose, watery eyes and a fever before a rash emerges several days later, according to the state health department.
In New York, there have been 178 confirmed cases of the measles this year through Oct. 24, with most cases recorded since August, according to the state Department of Health. All but eight of those who got sick were outside of New York City.
Health officials in Otsego and Seneca counties, which have been affected by the outbreak, told Gothamist the true toll is likely much higher than the official count shows, however.
Outbreaks of the disease are also raging across the country, including in neighboring Pennsylvania. Nearly 5,000 cases of the measles have been confirmed nationwide this year as of Oct. 30, the highest number since 1991, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
New York state health officials said they have offered to assist Lewis County with community outreach and vaccination efforts, “both in response to this case, and as part of our ongoing efforts to support counties that are facing this ongoing measles outbreak.”
Hochul’s disaster emergency order also allowed more types of health care workers to administer vaccines and conduct measles testing.
But some people in areas affected by the outbreak remain resistant to vaccination, according to healthcare workers and county health officials upstate.
People with ties to Amish communities in New York say they are among those most affected by the outbreak, though state and county health officials have declined to say which groups are bearing the biggest burden.
The outbreak comes as some Amish New Yorkers are seeking to add a religious exemption to the state’s school vaccine mandate.
Nationally, cases of the measles are rising as childhood vaccination against the disease declines, according to the CDC.
Hochul called out the Trump administration following the Lewis County measles death, saying the fatality is a “devastating reminder of what’s at stake when Washington deliberately erodes decades of progress in protecting Americans from preventable illnesses.”
President Donald Trump and his administration have called in recent months for children to be immunized against fewer diseases. Although the CDC continues to recommend vaccination against the measles, Trump has suggested the measles, mumps and rubella shot should be split up into three separate vaccines.
Tagged
Health and Science
measles
new york state
Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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