Children who survive measles are protected against future measles infections, but have such diminished immunity that they may be left vulnerable to other pathogens, according to a pair of research papers in Science and Science Immunology today (October 31). The studies, which examined blood from unvaccinated children, show that the virus decimates the body’s repertoire of pathogen-specific immunological weapons.
“These [papers] really advance our understanding of the impact of measles virus on the immune system and consequently the potential for increased susceptibility to other infectious diseases,” says epidemiologist William Moss of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who was not involved in either study. They suggest, he continues, “that we may have been underestimating the impact of the measles vaccine on global child mortality.”
“They are clearly very important papers, particularly at this time when there is, in some quarters, so much anti-vaccine sentiment,” says immunologist Dan Littman of New York University who also did not participate in the research. They provide “real evidence-based data to argue for the importance of vaccination,” he adds. “Not that us immunologists needed any convincing.”…
