Measles is one of the most contagious viral infections known. Measles endangers anyone who comes in contact with a measles patient. You may have seen recent reports on how the measles virus can remain suspended in the air for hours after an infected individual exits a space. About 90% of vulnerable people will contract the virus simply from hanging out in that room.
The implications extend beyond immediate infection. Pregnant women who become infected with measles are at heightened risk as a result of their immunosuppression from the virus merged with that of pregnancy itself. This subject raises the risk of deadly complications like pneumonia and encephalitis.
In addition to immediate complications including hospitalizations and pneumonia, measles can cause long-term health effects, such as a rare but fatal syndrome called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). The complication SSPE happens in 4 to 11 cases per 100,000 people infected with measles. It emerges decades after the initial exposure and results in increasingly severe cognitive deterioration, movement disorder, and visual impairment. Eventually, this disease progresses to a comatose state and death in a few years.
Experts emphasize the phenomenon known as immune amnesia, where the measles virus replaces existing immune cells with its own virus-specific cells. The measles virus has a murderous intent that kills the old memory cells in its host, actively replacing them. Specifically, it induces the generation of new immune cell types, lymphocytes, that go after the virus. As Dr. Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, described, the patient gains a powerful immunity solely to the measles virus. Reticulocyte development is permissive or even advantageous to the development of other pathogens. She suggested that this renders measles patients especially vulnerable to secondary infections, particularly those that lead to pneumonia.
Dr. Gandhi provided an excellent overview of immune amnesia. He referred to it as a temporary annihilation of immune cells trained up by prior infections or vaccines to do long-term work. What’s immune amnesia? Immune amnesia is what happens when the measles virus temporarily erases your immune cells, which include T and B cells. This destruction, she explained, is what makes it more difficult for your body to protect itself from pathogens your body has already fought off.
During pregnancy, the risks are amplified. As Dr. Gandhi pointed out, they are immunosuppressed by both pregnancy and measles. Additionally, pregnant people might be at increased risk for serious complications such as pneumonia or encephalitis. She described the risk of miscarriage, preterm delivery or developmental issues in the newborn.
David Cutler, MD, further emphasized the transmissibility of measles. “About 90% of susceptible people will acquire the infection by simply being in the same room as a measles patient. He warned that the virus can hang out in the air for several hours. This can occur even when the measles patient has already left the room.
Leave a Reply