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Measles increases the risk of other infections

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 18, page 2 (2020)Cite this article

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Measles, which is caused by the measles virus, is a highly contagious infectious disease, and measles-related morbidity and mortality have been linked to an increased susceptibility to secondary bacterial and viral infections, even years after initial infection. Previous studies have suggested that measles induces prolonged impairment of acquired immunological memory that renders individuals more susceptible to other pathogens, although the underlying mechanisms were not well understood. The introduction of the measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) vaccine has been implicated in the reduction of childhood morbidity and mortality caused by non-measles pathogens; however, globally the number of cases of measles has increased, owing to a reduction in vaccine uptake, which might increase the incidence of secondary infections and mortality risk.

Two recent studies provide further evidence that measles induces ‘immunological amnesia’; that is, long-term immune memory loss. Mina et al. analysed the antibody repertoire in unvaccinated children before and after natural measles virus infection as well as in vaccinated children and found that measles caused a reduction of the antibody repertoire in unvaccinated children (11–73%), whereas a similar loss of antibodies was not observed in vaccinated children (Science 1 Nov. 2019). Petrova et al. showed that measles virus infection causes changes in the diversity of naive and memory B lymphocytes that persist after the resolution of clinical symptoms (Science Immunol. 1 Nov. 2019). Together, the studies provide mechanistic insights into the immunological mechanisms whereby measles virus infection contributes to prolonged immunosuppression that alters previously acquired immune memory. Moreover, the findings further highlight the importance of vaccination and the need to increase vaccination rates.

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  1. Nature Reviews Microbiology http://www.nature.com/nrmicro/

    Andrea Du Toit

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  1. Andrea Du Toit
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Correspondence to Andrea Du Toit.

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Du Toit, A. Measles increases the risk of other infections. Nat Rev Microbiol 18, 2 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41579-019-0301-7

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