A child in Los Angeles died of a measles -related brain disease that results from an infection in its infancy, reported the health department of Los Angeles County Thursday.
In particular, the child died of subacute sclerosing Panencefalitis (SSPE), a rare, but always fatal complication that strikes years after a first measles infection. The announcement of the health department offered few details about the child, including the age of the child, but said the child had contracted the virus before they were old enough to be vaccinated against measles. The first of two recommended doses of measles, mumps and rubella (mmr) vaccine is given between 12 and 15 months.
“This case is a painful memory of how dangerous measles can be, especially for our most vulnerable members of the community,” said Muntu Davis, a health officer of Los Angeles County, in a statement. “Babies too young to be vaccinated, rely on all of us to help them protect them through the immunity of the community. Vaccination is not just about protecting yourself – it's about protecting your family, your neighbors and especially children who are too young to be vaccinated.”
SSPE is caused by a persistent measles infection in the central nervous system. Children who are infected with the virus can then fully recover due to the standard disease progression, high fever, the multi-paid rash and then. But for a small pair, the virus remains remains and SSPE arises years later, often seven to 10 years after the first infection.
The health department of Los Angeles noted that SSPE generally affects about 1 in 10,000 people with measles, but the risk can be much higher – about 1 in 600 – for those who get measles as babies, such as the child who recently died.
With widespread vaccination, which led to measles from the US in 2000, SSPE has almost disappeared in the US. However, with vaccination rates slipping and wrong information about vaccine and views that the country seize, health experts are afraid to see more of these devastating cases. The number of American measles suitcase for the year is already at a highest highest point of 33 years, and two other children, as well as an adult, died of acute infection this year.
