EXPLAINER — How does the US count measles deaths?

By Nancy Lapid Oct 14 (Reuters) — US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has changed how the federal government recognizes deaths from measles in the midst of the worst US outbreak of the highly infectious virus in more than three decades, prompting backlash from disease experts and political opponents. Here is what you need to know about how US measles deaths are currently determined: What Has Changed? For over a century, US state and local health officials have been required to report cases of death in people with a measles diagnosis to the federal government. These reports are separate from death certificates issued by hospital staff or coroners that can list measles as a cause of death or as a contributing factor. Disease experts have generally considered the death of any person infected with measles to be related to the virus, which can directly impair organs or exacerbate underlying health problems. Kennedy has said the US will no longer automatically include state reports to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of people who died with measles in the national published tally of measles deaths. Instead, the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics will first co