Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is “a very rare, but fatal” disease of the central nervous system that results from a measles virus infection acquired earlier in life, says the CDC. It typically develops seven to 10 years after a person has measles, “even though the person seems to have fully recovered”.
The immune condition Sorrel has is different and less well understood.
In 2019, research from the Wellcome Sanger Institute found that the measles virus can infect the B-cells of the immune system, effectively wiping their “memory” and lowering the body’s ability to fight off infection.
“It’s almost like someone has taken a rubber to a page of pencil text and taken out sentences and words across the entire page – you’ve wiped away someone’s immune memory,” said Professor Kellam.
“But if you’re vaccinated and never get measles, then your ability to fight pathogens remains intact. It’s another huge benefit of measles vaccination.”
Sorrel considers herself lucky. As an unvaccinated adult, measles didn’t make her go blind or deaf, or leave her with brain damage.
But years of poor health altered the course of her life – delaying university, ending her dreams of becoming a dancer, and fracturing her relationship with her anti-vax parents for many years.
She now works in science communication, partly fuelled by her personal experience with disinformation.
“I developed an interest in helping people understand science,” she said. “Maybe if my parents had encountered the right piece of information at the right time, they would have made a different decision.”
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