The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a third measles death on Wednesday, but it has not disclosed the state where this death occurred. This lack of transparency has raised concerns among experts, especially as the agency delays reporting other measles deaths amid a growing outbreak.
CDC's Reporting Practices
The CDC's dashboard now shows a total of three measles deaths this year, but the agency has not specified whether the latest death was in Pennsylvania or another state. Experts argue that withholding this information is significant, particularly as the number of confirmed measles cases has surged by 8% in just one week, reaching 4,410 cases this year—nearly double the count from last year.
A spokesperson from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated, "Due to privacy laws and legal restrictions, NCHS [the National Center for Health Statistics] cannot identify a state or provide additional details about the third individual." However, experts like Dorit Reiss, a professor of law at UC Law San Francisco, contest this reasoning, asserting that naming a state does not compromise personal details and that the CDC typically reports case numbers by state.
Legal Framework and Concerns
The CDC operates under the Federal Privacy Act, which restricts the disclosure of government records about specific individuals. Lindsay Wiley, a professor of law at UCLA, noted that this prohibition applies only to information revealing an individual's identity. "It’s hard to see how identifying the state where a death occurred would allow the public to identify the patient," she explained.
