There have been 1,241 cases of measles in the U.S. so far this year -- and if people continue to fall ill with the disease, the U.S. could lose its measles elimination status, experts at EmoryUniversity warn.
One rare but troubling complication of the measles can happen 6 to 8 years after infection. Even after a person -- typically a child -- recovers from their initial symptoms, the virus can hide in the body and resurface with devastating effects on the brain called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE. The disease is progressive and fatal, starting with changes to memory and behavior and ending when the brain can no longer control the body’s physical functions like heartbeat and breathing.
Even when the shot is available, not everyone can be vaccinated. Babies are most vulnerable because they don’t get their first dose of the measles vaccine until their first birthday. Some children and adults with compromised immune function, such as those with cancer and on, can’t be vaccinated because the vaccine makes use of a live, but weakened, version of the virus. These groups are particularly vulnerable to such an infection and more likely to have severe complications, too.
In late August, the World Health Organization declared that four European countries had lost their measles elimination status: Albania, the Czech Republic, Greece, and the United Kingdom.
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