Measles and the MMR & MMRV Vaccines

February 23rd, 2020

Surprise! I have decided to post another blog today!! I had so much fun researching about Polio and its vaccines, that I decided I would do it with another disease. In my microbiology class another disease that we talked about was measles. Like Polio, this disease has effective vaccines that can make it possible for us eradicate it off the face of the earth, which is why I chose this disease.

What is Measles?

First off, let me give you a little background on what measles is. Measles is an infection caused by the rubeola virus. When this virus is inhaled into a susceptible host, it replicates in the upper respiratory epithelium. From there the virus drains into your lymphatic system, where it then spreads to the rest of your body. The signs and symptoms for this disease include: rash, fever, weepy eyes, cough, nasal discharge, and sometimes diarrhea. Like chickenpox, this rash starts from the trunk and expands out the extremities. However, unlike chicken pox, the rash caused by measles is an inflammatory rash. This means that when you touch the rash it will blanch (skin will turn white and then return back to red, like with sunburn). A symptom unique to this disease are the Koplik spots that form on the inside of your cheek. These spots are like a sandpapery rash, with white nodules on them. Humans are the only reservoir with this disease, which makes it easier to control. Because humans are the only reservoir and there are effective vaccines, measles could be eradicated off the face of the earth! 

Measles Vaccines: MMR and MMRV

There are two listened vaccines that treat measles. There is the MMR and the MMRV vaccine. Both of these vaccines contain live, attenuated measles virus. An attenuated vaccine is a vaccine that contains a weakened form of the virus. So, with the MMR and MRRV vaccines the rubeola virus (which causes measles) is still able to replicate in the host, but since it is weakened, your immune system should be able to easily and effectively eradicate it from your body. An advantage of these types of vaccines, is that unlike inactivated vaccines, the immune response to these is usually long-lasting. Moreover, because the vaccine injects the naturally occurring virus (wild-type virus) into your body, your immune system creates a more effective response. However, these vaccines cannot be given to immunocompromised people. When you are immunocompromised your immune system is not strong enough to fight off the weekend virus, so the vaccine will result in a (possible fatal) infection, rather than build an immune response.

Measles in the World Today

This disease was almost completely eradicated off the face of the earth at one point, which is amazing. In 2000, measles was declared eliminated from the United States. However, due to the rise in the anti-vaccination movement, less and less kids are being vaccinated with the MMR or MMRV vaccine, and thus more and more cases of measles have been popping up.

According to the CDC, last year had the highest recorded cases of measles in the United States since 1992, with a total of 1,282 cases. It is crazy how mis-information and the anti-vaccination movement is able to affect the world of diseases. We went from not having this disease in the United States to having over a 1,000. This disease is not a fun one to have, so I don’t understand why people would not want to protect their kids from it. For example, in my microbiology class my professor Dr. Cramer was explaining how this disease might be linked to severe memory loss in our immune system. Recent research has suggested that this disease might be responsible for killing about 2/3rds of the memory cells to diseases you have seen previously been infected with. This means that your body will have no defenses to many diseases that you have been vaccinated for or already contracted, which makes theses diseases possible fatal. With this in mind, I think it is so important for children to be vaccinated with the MMR and/or the MMRV vaccine. I hope you feel the same way and can share this with anyone who might be skeptical.

Further, the CDC is trying to create more confidence in the vaccines in hopes of increasing vaccination rate and eventually eradicate it from the United States again. The goal of increasing vaccination is not unique to the United States. An organization called Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has pledged to provide 45 million vaccines to 7 developing countries over the next 6 months in hopes of thwarting the recent global increase in the measles virus. Global rates of measles dropped significantly in 2016 when vaccines were provided to the developing countries. So, with the help of this organization and others like it, we are slowly inching towards the possibility of eradicating measles.

Thank you for reading! I hope this post gave you a better understanding of measles and its vaccines. I hope you have more confidence in its vaccines and see how effective they are. Hope you have a good week and look out for next weeks blog!