Infant dies as measles cases climb in Wisconsin and Minnesota

In just the last week, the number of measles cases in Minnesota has nearly doubled. And in Wisconsin, where the outbreak is even worse, an infant has now died from the infection. Shino her is in our live center tracking what is causing the increase in cases. Good morning. Hey, good morning, Tom and Kelly. We know that that infant died in southwest Wisconsin, and as of this morning, no other information has been released by health officials just yet. Now, we know the first measles-related death in the state. This is the first measles-related death in the state since 1990. So far, 431 confirmed cases right now in Wisconsin this year. 362 of those, we know, are cases in four counties in the far southwest part of the state along the Iowa border. Now, Minnesota, we have fewer cases here, but still the highest in the state since 1990. 59 new cases we have seen just this week. So far, 139 cases for the year. The majority in Todd County, which is in central Minnesota, are All new cases are people who are unvaccinated. Right now, health officials say low vaccination rates are putting vulnerable populations at risk because they are no longer protected by herd immunity to prevent these outbreaks. Vaccine hesitancy, they say, is putting the U.S. at risk of losing eradication status. And health officials are urging everyone to please get vaccinated. Would like to be very, very clear this measles, mumps, rubella vaccine has been around for decades and is extremely safe vaccine. And so I would encourage everyone to make sure that if they're able to be vaccinated that they have been vaccinated. And health officials have said that measles is one of the most infectious diseases and if left untreated, measles can be deadly as we've seen here. One infant again has died in Wisconsin. That is the sad part of the story. All right. Thank you. Chinoo Hur in our Life Center.