Coroner says baby with measles in Pennsylvania died of a ruptured spleen

After the Pennsylvania Health Department announced that an infant’s death was associated with measles, the coroner involved has said he does not consider measles to be the cause of death.

After the Pennsylvania Health Department announced Wednesday that one of the two people whose deaths in the state were associated with measles was an infant, the coroner involved in the case has said he does not consider measles to be the cause of death.

The Lancaster County coroner, Dr. Stephen Diamantoni, said in an interview Wednesday evening that the baby died shortly after birth from an internal hemorrhage and “traumatic rupture” of the spleen. He said he found evidence of the measles virus in the infant’s lung tissue.

It is still unclear whether measles played a role in the infant’s death. An infection can cause the spleen to enlarge — which raises the risk of rupture — but that could be difficult to detect in an autopsy after a rupture has occurred. Diamantoni, a Republican who has held the elected position since 2008, said he did not find evidence that the infant’s spleen was enlarged.

He added that he was investigating the death further, saying the infant was born at a birthing center assisted by a lay midwife who was not certified in midwifery.

The health secretary, Dr. Debra Bogen, expressed confidence Wednesday in her department’s conclusion that the death was “measles-associated,” a term that means there was laboratory or epidemiologic evidence of a measles infection.