Where the measles vaccine has been introduced, not only to a lot fewer people get measles (duh), but a bunch of other mortality rates go down, not directly associated with measles.
A new study indicates that measles not only has the ill effects of the disease itself (which kills usually through follow-on conditions such as pneumonia and diarrhea), but it can wipe out the body's immune memory, leaving it susceptible to other diseases that it previously learned to fight off.
Yet another reason (as if one was needed) to get that measles vaccine for the tots.
(h/t +Kee Hinckley)
Scientists Crack A 50-Year-Old Mystery About The Measles Vaccine
When the U.S. introduced the measles vaccine, childhood deaths from all infections plummeted. Scientists think they might know why: Benefits of the measles vaccine go way beyond the measles.
