Measles is even more dangerous than doctors had realised, because it destroys immunity that the victim has acquired to other diseases, according to new research.
The findings from two studies by Britain's Wellcome Sanger Institute and Cambridge University and the U.S. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, help to explain why children often catch other infectious diseases after having measles.
They show for the first time how measles resets the human immune system back to an immature state, with only limited ability to fight off new infections.
Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre in Auckland, Nikki Turner, told Jenny Meyer measles is one of the most highly infectious viruses ever known, and the new research adds another layer of information in the fight to get it under control.
Measles viruses. 3D illustration showing structure of measles virus with surface glycoprotein spikes heamagglutinin-neuraminidase and fusion protein. Photo: 123RF
