A Los Angeles child has died from subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a fatal brain disorder caused by an earlier measles infection, underscoring the urgent need for vaccination.
A Los Angeles school-age child has died from subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a rare and fatal brain disorder caused by a persistent measles infection. Health officials confirmed the child contracted measles in infancy, before they were eligible for the MMR vaccine, highlighting the dangers of leaving communities unprotected.
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world. Spread through respiratory droplets, it can infect 90% of unvaccinated people exposed in close contact. Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, hundreds of thousands of Americans contracted the illness each year. Vaccination reduced cases by 95% within five years, and by 2000 the disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. But declining vaccination rates have allowed outbreaks to reemerge.
SSPE, though rare, is among the most devastating complications. About one in 10,000 people who contract measles—and one in 600 infants—may later develop SSPE, often years after appearing to recover. Symptoms include memory loss, seizures, personality changes, and rapid neurological decline, ending in death.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that measles can also cause pneumonia, deafness, diarrhea, and encephalitis. Experts emphasize there is no cure, and the only reliable protection is the MMR vaccine, which provides lifelong immunity.
This latest death serves as a tragic reminder: measles is not harmless, and vaccination remains the safest defense against both the disease and its devastating complications.