HARRISBURG, Nov. 5 -- Pennsylvania has reported its sixth confirmed measles-associated death this year, as an outbreak spanning 45 counties raises fresh concerns about the consequences of infection and the importance of vaccination.

The latest death involved an unvaccinated Jefferson County resident, according to a November 4 report by WTAJ published by MyTwinTiers, which cited the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The department's November 4 announcement confirmed that statewide cases had reached 1,467.

Health officials also reported 283 hospitalizations connected with the outbreak. Those figures place the latest death within a wider public health emergency, rather than an isolated infection, and underline the potential severity of a ...