Also called Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), it affects like 1 in 5,000 people who contract measles (vaccinated), but jumps to 1 in 609 in the unvaccinated.

Basically, you get measles and then seem fine, but anywhere from months to 15+ years later, you develop brain inflammation, seizures, spasms, blindness, and coma, and it’s basically 100% fatal. The disease attacks your nerves and brain. There’s no treatment or cure, and it hurts the whole time you’re dying. It can take months or more of excruciating suffering to kill you. It’s similar to rabies, in that you lose all control and are guaranteed a protracted, painful death.

It’s preventable by getting the measles vaccine.

    • LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      18 hours ago

      I didn’t misquote. This disease doesn’t usually happen in infants – it happens in children and young adults who weren’t vaccinated as infants.

      The wording may be confusing, but the point is you have a near exponential chance of getting this if you weren’t vaccinated as an infant, which is when we typically give this vaccination.

      • PattyMcB@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        18 hours ago

        I went back and checked. That 1 in 609 was about children under 12 months who contracted measles.

        From the wiki source:

        Among measles cases reported to CDPH during 1988–1991, incidence of SSPE was 1:1367 for children <5 years, and 1:609 for children <12 months at time of measles disease.

        Everyone should still get vaccinated for measles to prevent any of it!

        • LillyPip@lemmy.caOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          15 hours ago

          That 1 in 609 was about children under 12 months who contracted measles.

          Yeah, and the larger number was in a largely vaccinated population.

          The 1 in 609 number is in unvaccinated populations.

          It’s kind of apples to oranges, where the oranges are very stupid and never get protection and the apples are protected.

          It’s a bit hard to compare these populations in progressive populations where some are really dumb.