A rare measles complication that destroys brain function appeared in some Philippine children just two to three years after they caught measles during a massive outbreak, according to a report by CDC researchers in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. The disease, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), is almost always fatal and has no cure.
The study reviewed 20 children admitted with SSPE from 2007 through 2022 to a pediatric hospital in Quezon City. All four children whose infections matched the 2018-2019 Philippine outbreak were hospitalized from 2020 through 2022, according to a summary by CIDRAP. The authors wrote that those cases "most likely represent the leading edge of a postoutbreak wave."
