Many people believe that once a child recovers from measles, the danger is gone. But years later, a rare and deadly complication can appear.
A baby boy caught measles at just 7 months old. At age 6, he began having seizures and losing cognitive abilities. Doctors diagnosed him with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a progressive brain disorder caused by a previous measles infection.
By age 7, he had passed away.
SSPE can remain hidden for years before causing personality changes, seizures, vision loss, brain damage, and eventually life-threatening complications. There is no cure, and many patients survive only 1–3 years after diagnosis.
The best way to prevent this rare disease is through measles prevention with the MMR vaccine.
