Measles cases pass 1,350 in Pennsylvania this year, with Lancaster's Amish community at the centre

The number of people infected with measles in the US state of Pennsylvania this year has passed 1,350. According to the state's health department, Pennsylvania has the highest number of measles cases this year among the 50 US states.

According to a report by The Independent, more than a third of those infected are residents of Lancaster County. The largest Amish population in the United States lives in this county.

The Lancaster County area has become the centre of the most severe measles outbreak seen in the United States in the past 35 years.

Three people have died of measles and measles symptoms in Lancaster County, and two more have died in other counties.

Highlighting the severity of the outbreak, a prominent doctor warned that no one at risk of contracting the measles virus in the United States has reason to feel safe. No one who has not been vaccinated or has never had measles before is safe from this virus, the doctor said.

Vaccination rates have long been low among the Amish community. Vaccination uptake is now also declining among the general population. That has created favourable conditions for this highly contagious virus to spread — even though measles had been officially declared eliminated in the United States since 2000.

Community leaders say the true number of infections could be far higher than the official count, because many people with measles do not go to a doctor, so many of their infections remain outside the official figures.

The outbreak has hit hardest among the 'Plain Community' — the plain-living religious community made up of Amish and conservative Mennonite members. In keeping with religious and cultural tradition, members of this community wear plain clothing and limit their use of modern technology.

However, vaccination rates and attitudes towards vaccines are not uniform among all members of this community. Overall, their tendency to vaccinate is lower than the general population's. Culture and long-standing habit are thought to be more responsible for this than religious restrictions.

In 2025, a measles outbreak was seen among Mennonite communities in Texas and several other areas of the United States. This year, too, measles infections have occurred in most US states.

Although Plain Community members limit their participation in various social activities, they are not completely isolated. They come into contact with the general public at farm produce markets, doctors' chambers and other places. So if measles spreads among them, it can also affect wider society.

Community leaders and researchers say attitudes towards vaccines in this community have changed over the years — interest in vaccination has sometimes risen and sometimes fallen. During the Covid-19 pandemic, strict public health rules reduced their interest in vaccination. The current outbreak is making many of them interested in vaccination now, while at the same time strengthening vaccine scepticism and distrust among others. Community leaders and experts say most of those who avoid vaccines are not driven by an ideological position.