HealthCare News
Measles May Weaken Immune System for Up to 3 Years, Study ContendsTHURSDAY, May 7, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that children who survive a measles infection remain vulnerable to other potentially deadly infections for as long as two or three years after the measles infection. The finding is yet another reason for children to get vaccinated against measles, the researchers said. A measles infection appears to wipe out the memory cells of a person's immune system, which the body uses to recall how to fight off all the bad bugs encountered day-to-day, said study lead author Michael Mina, a postdoctoral infectious disease researcher at Princeton University. Without that immune memory, children post-measles are at greater risk of contracting pneumonia, encephalitis and other infectious diseases. The measles even seems to wipe out immunity children gain from vaccines against other infectious diseases, Mina said. Read entire article... |
