Doctors say deadly measles offshoot is common

A TERRIFYING and deadly measles complication that kills children years after they have fallen ill is far more common than previously thought, doctors have warned.

Scientists say they are alarmed at the discovery that the neurological disorder, which is always fatal, may affect up to one in 600 non-vaccinated infants under a year old who get measles.

The condition, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), was once considered extremely rare, posing a risk to just one in 100,000 children with a history of measles.

Now a new US study has shown the danger to be much more real for infants, with as many as one child in 600 being affected.

The only certain safeguard against SSPE is universal vaccination, experts stress. With enough of the population immunised, the spread of measles would be contained well enough to protect infants too young to receive the vaccine.

Lead scientist Professor James Cherry, from the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, said: “This is really alarming and shows that vaccination truly is life saving.”

The virus responsible for measles is usually cleared from the body within 14 days. But in rare cases it spreads to the brain.

Scientists do not know what causes the virus to reactivate, but when it does the result can be SSPE – a horrifying condition leading to memory loss, muscle spasms, and occasional blindness.

Eventually patients may enter a persistent vegetative state. Death is inevitable as a result of fever, heart failure, or the brain’s inability to control vital organs.