Measles is an acute viral respiratory illness. It is characterized by a prodrome of fever (as high as 105°F) and malaise, cough, coryza, and conjunctivitis -the three “C”s -, a pathognomonic enanthema (Koplik spots) followed by a maculopapular rash. The rash usually appears about 14 days after a person is exposed.
The virus can cause "immune amnesia" -meaning the body forgets how to fight bugs it once knew how to beat.
Measles also resets the immune system to a "baby-like" state, compromising its ability to devise ways of tackling new infections.
Measles is a virus that initially causes a runny nose, sneezing and fever.A few days later it leads to a blotchy rash that starts off on the face and spreads across the body.
Most people will recover, but measles can cause life-long disability. It can be deadly, especially if it causes pneumonia in the lungs or encephalitis (swelling in the brain).
It is estimated that 110,000 people die from measles each year around the world.
Where do these findings come from?
The findings were based on detailed analysis of unvaccinated children in an Orthodox Protestant community in the Netherlands.
Blood samples were taken from the children, and then again two months after a measles outbreak in 2013.
How does measles wipe out immune memory?
The immune system has a memory of the hostile invaders it has fought off before.
Part of this memory is kept in memory B-cells, which are a type of immune cell that has specialised in producing just one type of antibody.
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