Since cases of measles are still circulating throughout the country, experts warn that infection is a risk of people’s health even years after the initial illness.
Hundreds have now been confirmed in Texas, New Mexico and 14 other states. Two people who have not received preventive vaccines have lost their lives, including the child.
While most children recover from measles, the virus affects the immune system’s ability to respond to infectious organisms that can cause disease in the future – such as bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites.
“So whenever you get measles, you lose some of your immune memory, and the more severe the measles, the longer the immune system will be eliminated,” said Stefan al -Daj, professor of genetics at the Harvard Medical School.
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The immune system’s memory helps fight viruses, but measles can destroy the cells in that memory. In a recent study, Al -Jad and his colleagues found that children lost between 11 and 73 percent of their antibodies that help identify foreign materials.
Previous research published in the journal Science Found that measles disable safety memory for up to three years.
“And when you lose that memory, you are no longer immune from that particular pathogen,” he said. “So the next time you received it, you have to fight that battle again.”
The way to prevent this result and measle infection is through vaccination. Two doses of measles-riubala vaccine are 97 % effective against measles. Those who are completely vaccinated protect the lifelong. For rare infections in achieving success, which is common in high -risk areas, it can eliminate severe disease and complications.
Overall, more than 300 cases in 16 states – much above all last year – have been reported in the last outbreak.
Only two cases were vaccinated in West Texas, while 257 were in those who were not vaccinated or their vaccination status was unknown. Most of the reports were reported elsewhere in people who were not vaccinated. In Atlanta, the cases were confirmed in three non -vaccinated family members. In New York City, none of the patients were vaccinated.
Although it is not yet clear whether other state cases are related to the outbreak of Texas, health officials’ data show that they have been reported in California, Alaska, Washington, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Rhodes Island and Vermont. However, government health officials have also reported cases in Michigan and Kansas.
A few vaccinated people – if exposed to measles, about three of the 100 are infected. The concern is that highly contagious virus cases can spread to other unaccountable societies. This is particularly worrying with the decrease in the rate of vaccination of children.
“There is no doubt that we will see the long -term consequences of measles in the future,” said Dr. Adam Rattner, a specialist in infectious diseases in New York City.
