What if measles virus is shown to be associated with autism? Would that mean we should stop vaccinating against measles?
A. If measles virus is shown to be associated with autism, it would be most likely that the wild measles virus would be a greater cause of autism than vaccine virus. Therefore, it is likely that in preventing wild measles virus infections, we also would be reducing the total number of cases of autism. People infected with wild type measles virus develop severe infections. Vaccination exposes the child to a weaker measles virus and prevents the complications of these severe infections. As an example, a severe degenerative infection of the brain (sub-acute sclerosing panencephalitis or SSPE) can occur following wild – type measles virus infection. Vaccine virus does not cause this severe degenerative infection and vaccination programs in the United States have virtually eliminated such complications by controlling measles.
Related Questions
- What if multiple laboratories confirmed the presence of measles virus in specimens from the intestines of children with autism? Would that indicate that measles causes autism?
- What if measles virus is shown to be associated with autism? Would that mean we should stop vaccinating against measles?
- What is the measles virus doing in the brain to cause autism?
