One other thing that is important to remember about congenital measles, in addition to the very real and increased risks of prematurity, stillbirth, and other consequences such as congenital pneumonia, is the much higher rate of SSPE for the infant. Some studies say up to 16x higher! Additionally, the interval to developing SSPE is shorter for infants with congenital measles; in typical cases people may get it decades later; in the case reports of congenital measles that I've read, that interval can be shorter, to the tune of a few years. Devastating!
SSPE: subacute sclerosing pan-encephalitis, which is an irreversible, progressive - though in some cases with periods of plateau- illness that is universally fatal. Neurological deficits followed by seizures, hypertonicity, cognitive regression, death.
I wrote about my experience taking care of a baby with congenital measles here, if that is helpful. https://substack.com/home/post/p-158402630 (links in the piece to medical literature)
So true. We will link to your post. Perhaps we can make a post that is an interview with you that then links and features your post. I absolutely hate measles. What do you think?
Thank you for this cogent, clear piece.
You’re welcome! Happy to keep writing newsletters!
One other thing that is important to remember about congenital measles, in addition to the very real and increased risks of prematurity, stillbirth, and other consequences such as congenital pneumonia, is the much higher rate of SSPE for the infant. Some studies say up to 16x higher! Additionally, the interval to developing SSPE is shorter for infants with congenital measles; in typical cases people may get it decades later; in the case reports of congenital measles that I've read, that interval can be shorter, to the tune of a few years. Devastating!
SSPE: subacute sclerosing pan-encephalitis, which is an irreversible, progressive - though in some cases with periods of plateau- illness that is universally fatal. Neurological deficits followed by seizures, hypertonicity, cognitive regression, death.
I wrote about my experience taking care of a baby with congenital measles here, if that is helpful. https://substack.com/home/post/p-158402630 (links in the piece to medical literature)
So true. We will link to your post. Perhaps we can make a post that is an interview with you that then links and features your post. I absolutely hate measles. What do you think?