Measles begins with a blotchy red rash that typically appears on the face and then spreads to the body of the person infected. (Photo: Getty Images/Natalya Maisheva)
When healthcare professionals talk about measles, they often focus on the blotchy red rash that typically appears on the face and then spreads to the body of the person infected. But a lesser known complication from the measles virus deserves more attention, according to retired pediatrician Dr. Arthur Lavin.
“Measles actually erases immune memory,” Lavin shared with NC Newsline in a recent interview.
The phenomenon of immune amnesia occurs when the highly contagious measles virus attacks the memory cells (white blood cells commonly called B cells and T cells) that carry the body’s knowledge of how to fight certain infections.
“The reason I don’t get chickenpox twice is because I have cells in my body that remember the first time I got chickenpox,” Lavin explained. “If I get rid of those cells, it’s like I never had it. I can get it again.”
Lavin said measles has the potential to wipe out those memory cells for at least a year after infection.
“You’re open season for anything you had that you used to be immune to,” said Lavin, who founded the nonprofit Grandparents for Vaccines to combat vaccine hesitancy and encourage childhood vaccination.
An earlier study by a team of Harvard Medical School researchers found that measles can erase from 11% to 73% of the different antibodies that previously made an individual immune to other illnesses.
“We know from the days in which measles was rampant, a lot of deaths from childhood infections were the result of people getting infections after measles,” Lavin explained. “Their immune system was basically unilaterally disarmed.”
Research published in the American Society of Microbiology suggests that it can take two to three years for one’s immune memory to be restored.
The best way to avoid measles and to protect the immune system is receiving the MMR vaccine. One dose of MMR vaccine is about 93% effective in preventing measles. Two doses of the vaccine is 97% effective.
Data released Friday by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services finds the state has recorded 15 cases of measles in six counties since December. Of those cases, 74% involved individuals who were unvaccinated.
The most recent case involves an unvaccinated child in Nash County who became ill after traveling from another country where measles outbreaks have been reported. The Nash County Health Department is now notifying the public of a potential measles exposure at UNC Health Nash Emergency Department after that child was seen at the hospital on Jan. 27 and later tested positive for measles.
While health officials believe the risk of transmission to the general public remains low, they are advising individuals who were at the UNC Health Nash Emergency Department between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. on Tuesday to review their own vaccination status and monitor themselves for symptoms.
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