Child dies from measles in Los Angeles

A school-age child in Los Angeles has died of a rare complication from measles, years after being infected with the virus.

The Los Angeles County health department announced the death Thursday, part of a warning to residents about the importance of getting vaccinated.

The department said the child got measles as an infant before they were eligible for their first measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) shot. The first dose should be given to babies at 12 to 15 months, followed by a second at 4 to 6 years.

The child recovered, but years later developed a rare, progressive brain disorder known as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE)…The condition can occur in people who had measles early in life, usually around 2 to 10 years after the initial infection…

“Vaccination is not just about protecting yourself — it’s about protecting your family, your neighbors, and especially children who are too young to be vaccinated,” said a Los Angeles County health official.

About 1 in 10,000 people with measles later develop SSPE — but among those who are infected as infants, the risk is around 1 in 600…The condition affects the central nervous system, so people may experience seizures or lose the ability to walk before falling into a coma or vegetative state. There is no known cure or effective treatment for the disorder, and most patients die within one to three years of diagnosis.

Nationally, measles vaccination rates have dipped in recent years. Less than 93% of kindergartners in the United States received the recommended two doses during the 2023-24 school year (a rate of 95% is generally needed to curb the spread).

“Measles vaccination has saved 94 million lives globally since 1974. Of those, 92 million were children”, says Our World in Data. But measles vaccination rates have fallen in the U.S., and as a result, an unvaccinated child died this year in Texas.

After vaccination rates fell, whooping cough cases jumped 14-fold in Michigan, resulting in a few deaths. Many more people are getting the disease, which makes you feel awful, as if you are coughing your lungs out. For babies, the disease can be deadly. “Cases of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, have jumped 14-fold since 2023, alarming state health officials. As of Dec. 8, there were 1,578 confirmed cases of pertussis in Michigan, compared to 110 for the full year of 2023,” notes Scott Gottlieb, who served as FDA Commissioner in the first Trump administration.