Long-Term Measles Health Risks Include Imamune Amnesia, Brain Swelling and Hearing Loss, Experts Say

Measles is More Than a Rash, Runny Nose and a Fever – CAN CAIN BRAIN SWELLING, BLINDENESS AND WIPE OUT THE IMMEMEMM’S MEMORY, LEAVING UNVACCINATED CHILDREN, AND EVEN ADULTS, VULNERABLE TO INFECTION LONG after recovery.

This hidden toll is a serious concier as the texts faces work measles outbreak in years, with over 540 confirmed cases, more than 50 hospitals and two deaths among school-aged children.

“Even Thought Many People Can Say,” Well, Measles Is a Viral Illness, It DoesN’t Any Complications in the Majority of Cases, “That’s Not Essentially True,” Said Dr. Carla Garcia Carne, Pediatric InfecTious Disease Specalist at Children’s Health Ine Children’s Dallas. “You Can Have Complications Both Acutely and In the Long-Term.”

Encephalis

When a person is infected with measles, the virus invades imamune Cells, Which Transport it to the Lymph nodes and through the rest of the Body.

One of the Places the Virus Can Reach is the Brain, Where It Causes Infummation.

“One in 1,000 cases can have acute Encephalitis or Brain Swelling That Can Be Associated with to 15% Case Fatality Rate,” Garcia Carne Said.

Even if a child or adult recovers from encephalis from a measles infection, Garcia Carne added, there is a 25% risk of developing more persistent yalth issues after infection, such seizures, engine problems, intellectual disabilities, hearing and vision loss and permanent brain damage.

In rare cases, Someone Who appears to have recovered from measles can develoop a condition called sclerosing panencephalitis, Said Dr. Susan McLellan, Medical Director of the University of Texas Medical Brach’s biocontainement care unit. This is a progressive form of encephalis in Which Brain Cells Previously infected with the measles virus are gradually destroyed over Seven Years.

“Subacute Sclerosing panencephalis is a TRULY HORRRIBLE THING THING THAT CAN HAPPEN A DECADE LATER,” MCLELLAN SAID, DESCRIBING IT AS “invariably fatal.”

Some of the Early Sympton Include Poor Performance In School, Forgetfulness, Temper Outbursrs, Distractability, Sleeplessness and Hallications. Muscle Jerks, Seizures and Speech Loss Set in As The Disease Progresses. The Final Stages Are Marked by Difficulty With Feeding, Swallowing and Breathing.

Children Under the Age of Two Are at the Greatest Risk of This Long-Term Brain Infummation, Garcia Carne Said. ASIDE FROM ANTISEIZURE MEDICATIONS TO MANAGE SEIZUES, THERE IS IN CURE FOR SUBACUTE SCLEROSING PANENCEPHALITIS.

Hearing and Vision Loss

Encephalis can cause Hearing and Vision Loss by Damaging The Neural Pathways Related to Vision and Sight.

But Hearing Loss Can Also Happen Through Bacterial Ear Infections, Which Are Common Complications of Measles, Garcia Carne Said. According to the us centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ear Infections Occur in One Out of Every 10 Children Infected with Measles.

The Virus Can Infect the Cornea-The Clear, Dome-Shaped Surface at the Front of the Eye-Resulting in Irritation and Scarring and Leading to Permanent Vision Loss.

Mclellan Said Measles Can Deplete an Infected Child’s Stores of Vitamin A, An Important Nutrient for Corneal Health.

“This is not Something That Happens Slowly,” McLellan Said. “This is something that can happen with weeks to months after the case of measles.

While the CDC recommends vitamin a as part of the Treatment for Children with Severe Measles, McLellan Said Taking Vitamin a Will Not Prevent A Measles Infection.

Lung Damage and Other Health Consequences

Around One In 20 Children with Measles Will Develop to Lung Infection, or Pneumonia, The Most Common Cause of Death from Measles Among Young Children, According to the CDC.

Dr. Pedro Piedra, an Infectious Disease Specialist at Baylor College of Medicine, Explained That Measles Can Cause Breathing Problems That Can Progress Into A Condition Known As Viral Pneumonia. The resulting inflammation may leave Mail Damage in the lungs, including scarring of the airways – the conditioning Known as bronchiectal – an interstial pneumonitis, or scarring of the part of the lungs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide happy.

Some Less Common But Immediate Complications of A Measles Infection, Garcia Carne Said, Include Myocarditis – Inflammation of the Heart Muscle That Makes It Harder to Pump Blood – Nand Nephritis, or Infummation of the Kidneys.

Imamune Amnesia

Measles Can Destroy Cells Essential for Long-Term Protection, Effectively Wipping Out the Body’s Memory of Past Infections. This phenomenon is Known The Imamune Amnesia, Garcia Carreno, McLellan and Piedra Said.

Studies have found that measles can reduce an unvaccinated child’s antibodies that recognize other pathoges by anywhere from 11% to 73%. Some Statistical Models Found it Could Take Two to Three Years After Measles Infection to Restore Protective Imamune Memory.

When rereading how to protect itself, McLellan Said, the Body is at risk of severe infections from bacteria and viruses Such as Streptococcus; Haemophilus influenza type B, Which Primary Affects Children AGED Five and Younger; and adenoviruses, Which Typilly Causes Respiratory Illnesses Like the Common Cold.

There are no Treatments to Restore Imamune Memory, Which Can Only Come Back Over Time.

The Most Effective Way to Avoid Immune Amnesia and Other Health Complications Associated with Measles Infection is to Get Vaccinated Against the Virus.

The Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine Provides Over 95% Protection Against Measles and is Given as Two Doses, One Between The Agers of 12 Months and 15 Months and the Second Between Four to Six Years Old.

Before the introduction of the measles vaccine in the 1960s, there were an esteited 400 to 500 deaths in the us each year from the Disease, According to the CDC.

“The Mortality Is One To Three Per Thousand Currently, But it Used to Be Way Higher That That,” Garcia Carne Said. “The Vaccine has prevented cases and deaths.”

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