A report released last week in Open Forum Infectious Diseases highlighted the importance of maintaining high measles vaccination coverage to protect those with compromised immune systems.
The report detailed a circumstance in which a 26-year-old man receiving leukemia treatment for leukemia went to a Swiss hospital’s emergency room with a fever, sore throat, a cough and was admitted – only to have his condition worsen, resulting in his death 17 days later from severe measles complications.
His weakened immune system was unable to fight off the disease, per the report, even though he was vaccinated against measles as a child.
“Measles is not harmless, it’s a serious disease,” said Dr. Philipp Jent, of Bern University Hospital and the University of Bern in Switzerland, and the report’s lead author. “There is a responsibility to vaccinate yourself to protect others, not only to protect yourself.”
According to the report, the case illustrates how serious measles can be, particularly for people with compromised immune systems due to cancer treatment or other causes. It also underscores the importance of herd immunity in protecting these vulnerable individuals.
“Ongoing efforts to raise confidence in vaccines and increase population immunity should be intensified,” the authors wrote in the case report’s conclusion. “Physicians caring for people with compromised immune systems, the authors noted, should also ensure that those in close contact with these patients, such as family members and friends, are fully vaccinated.”