A baby survived measles at 7 months old. Years later, the disease came back in a devastating way. 💔
At just 7 months old, the boy contracted measles.
Years later, at age 6, he began suffering from seizures and cognitive decline.
Doctors diagnosed him with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE)—a rare, progressive and fatal brain disorder that can develop years after a measles infection.
By age 7, the little boy had died at a California children’s hospital.
SSPE can begin with personality changes, mood problems and headaches before progressing to severe seizures, muscle spasms, loss of vision, dementia and eventually problems controlling breathing and heart function.
There is no cure, although treatment may slow the disease.
Most people who have measles never develop SSPE, but the risk remains years after the original infection.
The heartbreaking reality is that measles may seem to be gone—but in rare cases, its effects can return years later. 💔