Measles Is Unlike Other Viruses: What to Know About Long-Term Complications

When we get sick with a virus, our immune systems can “remember” the virus and potentially fight it the next time it comes around. However, measles, unlike other viruses, can wipe out the immune system and that memory. When that happens, immunity gets built up again through exposure to other viruses and bacteria and we become sick again. While immunity can be relearned, it can lead people to be especially prone to other infections right after measles, said E. John Wherry, PhD, the Richard and Barbara Schiffrin President’s Distinguished Professor and chair of Systems Pharmacology and Translational Therapeutics. “As every parent of a daycare-old child knows, if you’re building a lot of immunity in that time, you’re suffering through it,” Wherry said.