More than the measles: New study finds skipping MMR vaccine also increases risk for other illnesses

New studies published in Science and Science Immunology points to an answer for a phenomenon seen after the introduction of the measles vaccine to the United States in the 1960s, and another strike against the anti-vaccination movement in our country. Researchers have long noted that besides saving lives and driving down measles infections, the introduction of the measles vaccination also coincided with a drop, across the board, in the number of childhood illnesses—not measles related.

As NPR reports, these new studies point to the measles vaccination as the catalyst of this good fortune. Researchers suggest that anti-vaxxer parents who have their children skip the MMR shot are putting their child in a “double risk,” scenario. We have more medicine to treat measles if contracted, meaning survival rates from the disease are way higher than they once were. But the vaccination seems to do more than just immunize one from measles. It protects your immune system from the possible long term damage that contracting measles in the first place might.

One of the key features of our immune system is that it keeps track of the infectious agents we've encountered and uses that memory to prevent reinfection. But after someone gets the measles, their immune system appears to forget some of what it has encountered, studies suggest. It's an effect researchers refer to as "immune amnesia."

But “immune amnesia,” does not affect those receiving a measles vaccine. One study showed that while “normal cell counts,” may return after a child has contracted and recovered from the measles, their immune system may be considerably more restricted in its ability to respond to new pathogens. This happened as the diversity of immune cells were compromised after having had the measles, leaving one more prone to contracting another illness such as the flu. Another study looked at the viral history of children through their blood, with results showing “that after measles, previously healthy kids lost on average about half—and as much as 73%—of their overall antibody diversity.”

Measles cases have increased around the globe, in no small part due to the anti-vaxxer movement, and misinformation concerning public health. The anti-vaxxer movement prides itself on being ignorant of scientific fact. They do this in two ways: the first is believing in repeatedly debunked theories that there is a link between autism and childhood vaccinations, specifically the measles mumps and rubella vaccine; the second is to pooh-pooh the severity of measles as a disease. This study closes yet another door to anti-vaxxers, leaving them alone in their dangerous adamance.

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