Measles infections and symptoms pose far more longterm risks than most realize

Erica Finkelstein-Parker planned her daughter’s 8th birthday party with love.

Because Emmalee adored airplanes, Finkelstein-Parker chose the theme “Flying High with Emmalee.” Finkelstein-Parker filled nearly two dozen brightly colored goody bags for Emmalee’s friends — one for every child in her class, so no one would feel left out.

Months later, the treat bags remained unopened in Finkelstein-Parker’s bedroom, reminders of a birthday party that was never held.

Emmalee, who developed a rare complication of measles that can strike years after infection, spent her 8th birthday in hospice care at her family’s home. Her parents adopted Emmalee from an orphanage in India when she was 2 ½ years old. The orphanage staff didn’t tell them she had been infected with measles.

“There are some things that a parent should never have to do,” said Finkelstein-Parker, of Littlestown, Pennsylvania. “I had to call the birthday venue and explain that we were canceling the party because our daughter was dying.”

Emmalee died on Jan. 2, 2011.

“People think these diseases are ancient history, but they’re still around,” said Finkelstein-Parker. “Measles is a stealth virus. It may look like it has cleared your body, but it can hide in your nervous system.”

The massive resurgence of measles around the world — attributed to pandemic-related declines in immunizations and rising rates of vaccine hesitancy among parents — raises the risk of more serious complications and deaths, said Dr. James Cherry, a professor of pediatrics and an infectious disease expert at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

In the past two months, doctors in the U.S. have diagnosed dozens of measles cases related to unvaccinated travelers who arrived at international airports, then exposed others at hospitals and day care centers. State health departments have reported measles cases in California, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, Ohio, Maryland and Minnesota. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a warning to health providers, warning them to be on alert for more cases.

“All it takes is one infected traveler to spark an outbreak,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “It’s coming from people who are getting off airplanes.”

Measles is so contagious that even one case is considered an outbreak. Each measles patient infects an average of 12 to 18 people who lack immunity from vaccines or natural infection. In comparison, each Covid-19 patient infects about two other people, said Dr. Paul Offit, the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“Measles is much, much more contagious than Covid or the flu,” Offit said.

Although two doses of the measles vaccine protect 97% of children, the airborne virus spreads so quickly that 95% of children in a community need to be vaccinated in order to stop outbreaks. About 93% of children were up to date on the measles vaccine in 2022-23, according to the CDC.

All states mandate vaccinations for children in public schools, but a growing number of families are taking advantage of exemptions for religious, philosophical or medical reasons. About 3% of students are now exempt from vaccine mandates. In 10 states, more than 5% of schoolchildren are exempt, a rate that makes it harder to contain outbreaks.

People who decline to vaccinate their children against measles are taking large and unnecessary risks, Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital, said. Measles vaccines have repeatedly been shown to be safe.

Long-term effects of measles

For every 10,000 children infected with measles, 2,000 will be hospitalized; 1,000 will develop ear infections with the potential for permanent hearing loss; 500 will develop pneumonia; and 10 to 30 will die, Hotez said.

Ariel Loop was shocked when her 4-month-old son, who had received all recommended vaccines, became sick with measles after visiting Disneyland in 2015. Babies are vulnerable to measles because they aren’t routinely vaccinated against the virus until age 12 to 15 months.

Loop took her son to the emergency room after he developed red spots, itchy eyes and a fever of 102 degrees that acetaminophen didn’t help. Loop, a nurse, was especially worried about her son because he was born prematurely and suffered a stroke while in utero.