Pennsylvania health officials say they contacted Lancaster coroner repeatedly before measles death announcement

State health officials in Pennsylvania made several attempts to reach the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office about an infant who tested positive for measles before Governor Josh Shapiro announced two measles-associated deaths on Aug. 25. Records obtained through an open-records request show at least three phone calls and an email from the Department of Health between Aug. 20 and Aug. 24, with one doctor indicating he was available “24/7” to discuss the case.

Despite the documented outreach, coroner Stephen Diamantoni told reporters on Sept. 9 that he had not received any direct information from the state health department. > “I have not received any information directly from the state [health] department,” he said.

Diamantoni, an elected Republican who has served as coroner since 2007, also expressed doubt that one of the infants died from measles, attributing the death to a lacerated spleen. He said the communications he received did not convey urgency or a clear request to discuss a measles death.

The state health department responded that Pennsylvania law does not require the department to report deaths to a coroner’s office, and that coroners report deaths to the health department. Press secretary Neil Ruhland said the department “thoroughly investigates and verifies” measles-associated deaths before announcing them.

Public health experts noted that the mixed messages could confuse the public during the state’s largest measles outbreak, which has produced nearly 1,000 cases and five deaths. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director emerita of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, said officials must ensure timely and transparent communication in a public-health emergency.

The dispute has been cited by anti-vaccination figures, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who questioned the validity of the deaths. Governor Shapiro criticized such claims as misinformation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its national tally to include two measles deaths this year, matching Pennsylvania’s report.

The coroner’s office later confirmed that one infant, Ivan Miller, tested positive for measles acquired before birth but died from a ruptured spleen, while a second infant’s death was linked to a genetic condition that made respiratory illness especially dangerous. A fifth measles-related death was announced later in September, though the coroner’s office was not involved in that case.