Measles

Measles is undoubtly the most frightening infectious desease. According to the media, measles is much more dangerous than Ebola.

Here is a short video containing parts of TV broadcasts from the 50's and the 60's, where you can see how the measles had been perceived prior to the vaccine era. Roughly the way we perceived the chickenpox 20 years ago. Nowadays, with the vaccine available, the chickenpox becomes progressively more dangerous and, according to some sources, even lethal disease. The same happened with measles. Here is another interesting video, analyzing changes in perception of measles.

Measles is indeed very dangerous in case of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency, that is why it was often lethal in the 19th and early 20th century, and still is lethal in the third-world countries. In the developed countries, on the contrary, measles is much less dangerous than flu. The recovery is usually uncomplicated, provides lifelong immunity, and, as we will see, protects against much more dangerous diseases.

A 1959 article in which several practitioners explain that in England measles has become a mild illness and passes with little or no complications. No treatment is required, no one is trying to prevent its spread, and disease cases are not documented anywhere. Moreover, they claim that it is best to get measles from 3 to 7 years old, because it often leads to complications in adulthood, and that babies practically do not get it, and if they do, the disease is very mild. Mothers of children who had measles claim that thereafter "they became much better."
Mothers' testimonies that measles and other febrile diseases lead to a developmental jump in children may also be found nowadays.

So if measles was such a trivial disease, why did they start vaccinating against it in the first place? This is an article by Alexander Langmuir, then the chief CDC epidemiologist, who claims that measles is a short, non-severe and low-risk disease, and that the humanity have achieved a "biological balance" with it.
When asked why he wants to eradicate measles, Langmuir answers with the words of Edmund Hillary, who was asked why to conquer Everest – to which Hillary replied: "because it is there."
Langmuir adds that he wants to eradicate measles because it is possible.

In 1966, it was anticipated to completely eradicate measles within a year. It was considered that that in order to achieve herd immunity, vaccination coverage of 55% was sufficient. But by 1980, it turned out that vaccination only caused the adults and the teenagers to contract measles instead of the children.
Later on, infants born to mothers who did not get measles during childhood because of the vaccine, started to contract measles at ages younger than 1 year old, which was practically unheard of in pre-vaccination times. In other words, pregnant women, babies and adults, all of whom have a higher risk of complications, began contracting measles instead of getting it in childhood, when it is less dangerous.

In 1978, the schedule of complete measles eradication was set for the next four years. However, in 1989 it turned out that something wasn't right with the old measles vaccine, and that it was not until 1980 that they started to use a good one. But even the good vaccine was not able to eradicate measles, so in the same year they decided to introduce a second MMR dose. It also turned out that measles outbreak may very well occur in schools where 100% of children have documented vaccination record. CDC did not know how to explain this.

In 1994, Gregory Poland, one of the world's leading vaccine proponents, published an article analyzing 18 measles outbreaks in schools where almost all students were vaccinated. He concludes that it is impossible to completely eradicate measles even if 100% of the children are vaccinated, because the vaccine is not 100% effective. So as time goes on, measles will become a disease of the vaccinated, and since measles is highly contagious, herd immunity cannot be achieved, despite very high vaccination coverage. (It’s rather ironic that “herd immunity” - a term that has gained recognition precisely in the context of measles, does not apply for measles).
He also writes that vaccination prior to 12 months of age is very ineffective, and even prior to 15 months of age the vaccine effectiveness is diminished. Despite all this, this vaccine is recommended at 12 months of age in the United States and in many other countries, while WHO (World Health Organization) even recommends it at 6 months of age.
Since 2000, measles has been considered eliminated in the United States. This does not mean people completely ceased to contract measles, but rather the definition of "elimination" itself had been revised. Today, elimination means that measles is transmitted from person to person for a time period of less than 12 consecutive months.

Today the measles vaccine is always a part of the trivalent MMR vaccine (along with rubella and mumps components), or the tetravalent MMRV vaccine (with rubella, mumps and chickenpox). Monovalent measles vaccine is not manufactured in developed countries, but it seems to still be available in Russia and some third world countries. Usually two doses are scheduled – at 12 months and at 5-6 years old.
In contrast to the inactivated vaccines, which we have examined so far, measles vaccine is an attenuated one, containing a live antigen. "Live"-attenuated vaccines are much more effective than inactivated ones, and therefore do not need aluminum adjuvants addition. One of the issues with "live" vaccines is that the attenuated viruses are able to mutate and may become virulent again, in which case vaccinated persons become infectious.
[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22].

The first measles vaccine was inactivated, but after several years of common use, it turned out that it led to atypical measles, as well as to pneumonia and encephalopathy. The first attenuated vaccines were so potent that an immunoglobulin injection was also required with the vaccine administration. As a consequence, in 1965 and in 1967 the vaccine was attenuated again and again.

What does this mean, “attenuated vaccine”? How exactly does one weaken the virus without killing it?
To "attenuate" the virus, it is adapted to life in non-human cells. It mutates as a result of this process, becoming less adapted to humans.
A diagram of the mumps virus attenuation process is shown in a figure below.
The process starts with a wild strain of the virus being isolated from a sick person. After that, it undergoes two serial passages through human embryonic renal cells. Then the virus is transferred into the kidney cells of green monkeys. Then it undergoes six serial passages through the amniotic cells of chickens embryo, then twice through the fibroblast cells of the quail embryo, and then again twice through the chicken amniotic cells.
After that there may be some possibilities. One may perform three serial passages through the chicken embryo fibroblasts, or two passages through the chicken amniotic cells and then another five through the chicken allantois (embryonic respiratory organ), and then again through chicken fibroblasts. This allows to derive different vaccine strains, which can also be mixed with each other. Here is a patent if you are interested in the details.
Merck, for example, uses aborted lung cells (female WI-38 and male MRC-5) instead of kidney cells, as well as bovine serum. In general, every vaccine manufacturer frolics to the best of their imagination. (In another chapter we will discuss why aborted human cells are no better than animal cells).
And since it is impossible to completely separate the virus from the cells in which it propagates, fragments of these cells are also part of the vaccine. Since the role of these cells is to rapidly reproduce themselves, they are often carcinogenic. Scientists from the FDA are, of course, concerned by this fact, but not too much.
Moreover, these cells may contain other viruses that are not yet known to science. After all, in order to isolate a virus, you need to know what to look for. And if the virus is not yet known, then it is impossible to find. But you shouldn't worry. The FDA scientists are working on new technologies to detect unknown viruses. In 2010, a swine virus was discovered in a rotavirus vaccine. Although it is true that scientists from the University of California discovered it rather than the FDA. But still. Later on, they decided to analyze the rotavirus vaccine by another manufacturer and found the DNA of two swine viruses in it. But you shouldn't worry The FDA believes these viruses are completely safe for humans. Well, anyway, their danger has not been proven. Therefore, the FDA decided to allow the swine viruses in the vaccines. Really, why redesign such perfectly good vaccines because of such trifles as a couple of extra viruses?

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An outbreak of measles at a school in Massachusetts, where 98% of students were vaccinated (27 cases). The outbreak began with a fully vaccinated 16-year-old girl. Of the 27 cases, three were unvaccinated, five were inadequately vaccinated (i.e., they were vaccinated before 12 months of age, when the vaccine is less effective), and the rest were fully vaccinated. In total 11 fully vaccinated and 10 inadequately vaccinated students infected the others.

It was previously believed, that although those vaccinated against measles can still get measles, they are not able to infect others (the authors clearly did not read the previous article, and dozens of other articles about measles outbreaks in fully vaccinated schools). And so it turned out that they could. A twenty-two-year-old girl, vaccinated twice, infected with measles four people, three of which were employees of a medical institution. All four were either vaccinated with two doses, or had measles antibodies.
Here are a few articles about measles outbreaks in fully or almost fully vaccinated groups: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14].

Although the vaccination coverage in China exceeds 99%, measles is not eradicated there. 93.6% of the population have titers against measles, 86.7% have titers against mumps, and 74.6% - against rubella. In women of 20–40 years' age, measles and rubella titers are much lower than in men of the same age category. Meaning that during pregnancy, when the protection against measles and rubella is the most vital, many women do not have it thanks to the vaccination. Children of 7 months age and younger have titers even lower (in China the age of vaccination against measles is 8 months).
Indeed, most cases of measles are reported between the ages 20 until 29.
People most often contract rubella between the ages of 15-39, whereas it is most dangerous for pregnant women.

Despite a vaccination coverage of 98.5% in one of China provinces, the number of measles cases is growing, and adults contract it instead of children. The same happens in other provinces.
The authors isolated 16 strains of the virus from 14 vaccinated and two unvaccinated, and conclude that the virus mutates, causing the vaccinated to contract the disease. They call for the development of new measles vaccines

In Korea, babies younger than one-year-old are mostly the ones to contract measles. Only 71.5% of the population have measles titers. Between 2010 and 2014, the average amount of titers decreased by 16.5%. The same happens in Finland, Portugal и USA. Immunity after an illness lasts longer than immunity after vaccination. More: [1], [2].
In infants, maternal antibodies against measles decay by the age of 8 months, due to the fact that vaccinated mothers have less antibodies than those who contracted measles naturally.

It is known that during the disease, the measles virus is excreted in the urine for up to 10 days after the onset of the rash. And so it turned out that the virus is also excreted from the first day, and for at least 14 days after vaccination (the study was discontinued after 14 days). According to another study, the virus is excreted for 16 days after vaccination on average.
The prevalence of such asymptomatic and subclinical infections, which are not identified as measles by the CDC, is unknown. It is also unknown how communicable those infections are. In a previous research, it turned out that five of 12 persons who were in contact with a measles patient had the virus excreted in their urine, although only one of them had clinical symptoms of measles.
Here and here it is reported that the vaccine measles strain can also be found in the throat after vaccination.
In an Australian study of 2019, the vaccine strain of measles was found in the respiratory tract of 11 children in 100 or more days after the latest vaccination. In some cases, the vaccine strain was detected after one and even two years following the vaccination.

Since the vaccinated have lower titers than those who had measles, vaccinated mothers pass lower titers across the placenta to their embryos than unvaccinated ones.
Children of mothers who were born prior 1957 (i.e. before measles vaccine introduction) are protected from measles through maternal antibodies for up to six months of age on average. The children of mothers who were born after 1963 are protected for up to 4 months on average. More: [1], [2], [3].

Infants of vaccinated mothers contracted measles 7.5-fold more than infants of unvaccinated mothers. Because of the vaccine, more and more infants are not protected against measles. Therefore, the authors recommend vaccinating unprotected children no later than at 12 months of age.
Unvaccinated mothers have much higher titers than vaccinated: [1], [2].

The vaccinated have 23.2-fold less antibodies than unvaccinated. By the age of 20 their titers are significantly reduced. After 20 years old, they rise again, which indicates a naturally occured infection.

In the pre-vaccine era, 10.6% of the population was susceptible to measles. Since the beginning of vaccination, this figure dropped to 3.1%, but then began to rise by 0.1% per year. By 2050, the percentage of measles susceptible people will be higher than in pre-vaccine era. This will lead to unprecedented epidemics.

20% of children did not have measles antibodies 4-11 years after vaccination with a single dose.
Antibodies do not appear at all after 2 doses of the vaccine in 2-10% of children.

Blood was taken from vaccinated, and from unvaccinated who had measles,
This research compared how vaccinated and naturally immunized blood antibodies neutralize different strains of measles virus. Vaccinated neutralized 25% of the strains, and unvaccinated 54%.
Only 10% of the strains were not neutralized in at least 75% of the unvaccinated ones, while among the vaccinated 50% of the strains had not been neutralized.

In people with immune diseases, immunoglobulins are used for the measles treatment. Those are produced from the donors' blood plasma.
The authors analyzed measles titers in donors' blood, and it turned out that those born after 1990 had 7 times less antibodies than those born before 1962. The vaccination did not solve this problem, because it increased the antibodies level only two-fold, and only for a few months. The authors recommend that the FDA reduce the antibodies requirement for the immunoglobulin.
In another similar study, one year after the third MMR vaccine, the antibody count returned to its previous level.

Multiple studies demonstrate that 2–10% of those immunized with two doses of measles vaccine fail to develop protective antibody levels, and that immunity can wane over time and result in infection. Thus, measles outbreaks also occur even among highly vaccinated populations because of primary and secondary vaccine failure, which results in gradually larger pools of susceptible persons and outbreaks once measles is introduced. This leads to a paradoxical situation whereby measles in highly immunized societies occurs primarily among those previously immunized.
Even with two documented doses of measles vaccine, our laboratory demonstrated that 8.9% of 763 healthy children immunized a mean of 7.4 years earlier, lacked protective levels of circulating measles-specific neutralizing antibodies.
Therefore, it is impossible to eradicate measles with an existing vaccine, since modeling studies suggest that herd immunity to measles requires approximately 95% or better of the population to be immune.
The practical answer to the dilemma of measles re-emergence is the development of better, next-generation vaccines. An ideal vaccine would be one that could be administered immediately after birth, and which would have no contraindications. Then we can finally eradicate measles.

Agammaglobulinemia is a rare genetic disease, which manifests in absence of humoral immunity, meaning specific antibodies cannot be produced. This does not prevent persons with this disease from recovering from measles. Therefore, antibodies and humoral immunity do not play a significant role in measles. More: [1], [2].

As with some other diseases, the definition of measles has been revised and narrowed down. While in the past measles had been diagnosed (and had often been confused with rubella) only when a specific rash appeared, nowadays to confirm the measles diagnosis either a laboratory analysis is required, or a temperature above 38.3ºC with a cough, a rash, and an established connection with another measles patient. (Interestingly, high temperature, as a side effect of vaccination, is considered to be 39.4ºC, not 38.3ºC).

After the measles vaccination, 5% of vaccine recipients develop symptoms that are indistinguishable from measles.
In the United States, 194 cases of measles were registered in 2015, of which 73 were caused by a vaccine strain.
In a measles outbreak in Canada in 2015, 48% of the cases were caused by a vaccine strain.
In a study in France, measles antibodies were found in 87% out of 133 unvaccinated children. However, only 42 of them (i.e. 41%) have had clinical measles symptoms. This shows that measles is asymptomatic in almost 60% of cases. In a US study, measles was asymptomatic in only 17% of the vaccinated patients who did not develop antibodies.

In low-income Bangladesh villages the mortality rate among those who were vaccinated against measles was lower by 36%-46% than among not-vaccinated.
In low-income countries, the malnutrition causes more than 50% of child mortality. 45% of measles death cases are caused by the malnutrition.

In the 1920s, studies began to emerge proving that vitamin A protects against infections. Rats with vitamin A deficiency developed atrophies of the salivary glands and mucous membranes. Then these tissues were being infected by bacteria, and the rats died. In 1931, it turned out that vitamin A protects against postpartum sepsis. Back then, Vitamin A was being named anti-infective agent [1].
Measles virus attacks epithelial cells. With a deficiency of the vitamin A, these cells are atrophied, which allows bacteria to attack them. Those bacteria, which are usually harmless, manage to infect the lungs, skin, middle ear and gastrointestinal tract, causing complications.
In England, measles is dangerous mainly for children from the low income families, whose diet lacks fats (hence also vitamins A and D).
600 children with measles who were admitted to a London hospital were randomly divided into two groups. One group received vitamins A and D in form of fish oil (kindly provided by Glaxo Laboratories).
The mortality rate among those who did not receive the vitamins was 8.7% vs. 3.7% in the other group.
After this successful trial, vitamin A measles treatment was simply forgotten.

Vitamin A was discovered once again only 50 years later, when it turned out that children in Indonesia, even with a small vitamin A deficiency, die 4 times more often, and some age groups are 8-12 times more likely to die. Vitamin A supplementation also turned out to reduce mortality by 34%. A 1968 WHO report states that there is nothing else associated with infectious diseases more than vitamin A deficiency.
Measles reduces vitamin A levels even in children with good nutrition. Their vitamin levels even worse than in malnourished, but uninfected children.
The authors conducted a randomized trial among children with measles in Tanzania. A quarter of the children were severely malnourished, and only 30% weighted above 80% of the normal weight. Many suffered from anemia. In 91% of children, the level of vitamin A was below 0.56 umol/l (nowadays, 1.75 umol/l is considered the lower limit of the norm).
Among the children participating in the study, 14% were extremely malnourished, while in 58% the weight was below normal. Among those who did not receive vitamin A (400 thousand units), mortality was 13%, and among those who received the vitamin, mortality was 7%. Among children under two years of age, vitamin A reduced mortality by 87%. Malnourished children died from measles with several times higher likelihood than those with good nutrition, with no connection to vitamin A supplementation.
After this study, WHO recommended the use of vitamin A for children with measles, but only where mortality exceeds 1%. The dose recommended by WHO was 100-200 thousand IU (depending on age), despite the fact that a dose of 400 thousand IU was used in the study.

A randomized, double-blind study in South Africa (189 children).
Unlike in Tanzania, where children had an obvious vitamin deficiency, in South Africa clinical vitamin deficiency is very rare. Nevertheless, it turned out that in children with measles, the level of vitamin A was very low (on average 0.4 umol/l). In 92% of the children it was below 0.7. They also had low levels of retinol binding protein and albumin. All the children lived in a poor region.
Children who received vitamin A (400 thousand IU) recovered from pneumonia and diarrhea 2 times faster, and they had respiratory croup 2 times less likely. Of the 12 children who died, 10 received a placebo. No one died among those children whose vitamin levels were above 0.7 umol/l.
The authors believe that vitamin A should be given to all children with complicated measles, and not only where the mortality rate is above 1%. Also, the dose needs to be increased to 400 thousand IU, since the effectiveness of a lower dose has not been proven.

The authors tested vitamin A levels in 20 children with measles in California. To their surprise, half of them had low levels of vitamin A (less than 0.7), despite the fact that all of them had good nutrition. In the control group of uninfected children, all had normal vitamin levels. In the second control group (patients with other infectious diseases), 30% had a low level of vitamin A. All patients with measles also had a low level of retinol-binding protein and prealbumin. The authors conclude that it is impossible to further suggest that in well-fed American children, vitamin A levels during measles are not lowered. They also suggest that vitamin A levels decrease during other infectious diseases.

In New York, vitamin A levels were measured in 89 children under 2 years old with measles, and were compared with a control group. Almost all the children were Latin and African Americans. 22% had a low vitamin level (less than 0.7). 26% had a borderline level (0.7-0.87). Children with vitamin deficiency had fever (above 40) more often, for longer time, and they were hospitalized 2 times more often. Children with borderline vitamin levels were also hospitalized more often. Children in the control group did not have vitamin A deficiency, and their average vitamin level was 2 times higher than in the group of measles patients (0.92 vs. 1.9 umol/l).
6 of the children with measles had proof of vaccination. Measles symptoms, vitamin levels and the antibodies levels were exactly the same as in those with no vaccination record.
Vitamin A deficiency weakens cellular immunity and reduces antibody production.
The authors conclude that half of children with measles in New York have low or borderline vitamin A levels, which leads to more severe symptoms. They suggest supplementing vitamin A to children in the United States, and not just in third world countries.
A similar study conducted in Milwaukee.

A Cochrane systematic review on treating measles with vitamin A.
Two doses of vitamin A (200,000 IU each) reduce measles mortality by 82%. The risk of otitis media is reduced by 74%, the risk of laryngitis – by 47%. Water-based vitamin A is more effective than fat-based vitamin A.
A single dose of vitamin A does not reduce mortality.
Could it be that three doses of vitamin A, or higher doses, will reduce mortality even more? For some reason, no one ever studied this possibility.

A randomized controlled study on vitamin A impact on mortality in India. Fifteen thousand children were divided into two groups. One received vitamin E once a week, and the second were also supplemented with vitamin A (8000 IU). The study continued for one year. Among children who received vitamin A, mortality was 54% lower. In children under one year of age, mortality was 4 times lower than in children who did not receive vitamin A. Among those who were malnourished (72% of the study population), vitamin A reduced mortality 9-fold.
The authors did not expect such a significant reduction in mortality, since a similar trial in Indonesia led to a decrease in mortality of 11-45% only. But in Indonesia, vitamin A was added to monosodium glutamate, whereas in India it was added to peanut butter.

A meta-analysis of the vitamin A impact on infant mortality. Vitamin A reduced measles-related mortality by 60%, and by 90% among infants. Pneumonia-related mortality decreased by 70%.

A Cochrane systematic review of the overall vitamin A impact on morbidity and mortality. Vitamin A prophylactic supplementation in children reduces mortality by 12-24%. The risk of diarrhea is reduced by 15%, the risk of measles is reduced by 50%.

In developed countries, measles is a mild illness. The authors suggest this is "unfortunate", since measles vaccination may not be a priority as a public health measure for the decision makers in our world – parents of children who contract this mild form of measles.
But in Africa, measles is 400 times more deadly, thus vaccination is very important there. The authors also claim that a malnourished child with severe measles probably secretes the virus three times longer than does a child with normal nutrition, and that malnutrition, especially in children, leads to a more severe infection, and a lack of vitamin A can lead to blindness

Similar to measles, the MMR vaccine also depletes the vitamin A levels. [1]

A review article about vitamin A and measles. In England measles-related mortality had dropped 200-fold from 1908 to 1960, before the vaccine was even available.
The authors write that the tradition of daily supplementing children with cod liver oil (which has high vitamin A content) has virtually disappeared in Europe, remaining only in Norway. They recommend giving vitamin A along with the vaccine.

It's possible that Vitamin C supplementation also leads to quick recovery from measles.

As opposed to vitamin A, there is not a single study proving that measles vaccination in developed countries reduces measles-related mortality.
Now please recall how much you heard in the media about vitamin A, and how much about vaccinations in light of the recent measles “epidemics”.

In children who were breast-fed for more than 3 months, the risk of clinical measles was 31% lower compared to those who were not, regardless of the vaccination status.
It is also reported that among vaccinated children, 28% had measles, vs. 74% among unvaccinated.

Measles was associated with reduction Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma risk by 40% and Hodgkin Lymphoma risk by 70%. Chickenpox, mumps and rubella are associated with a reduced risk of Hodgkin's Lymphoma by 50%, and scarlet fever is associated with a reduced risk of HL by 80%.
Two childhood diseases are associated with a 50% reduction in the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and an 80% reduction in the risk of in Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Measles is associated with a 47% reduction in the risk of Hodgkin's lymphoma, and two or more childhood illnesses with a 55% decrease in the risk of lymphoma.

Measles, mumps or rubella in childhood are associated with a 70% reduction in the risk of Hodgkin's EBV lymphoma in women.
Those who had measles before the age of ten had a 96% lower risk of lymphoma than those who had measles after the age of ten.

A similar study among males. Children's diseases are associated with a reduced risk of Hodgkin lymphoma.

Measles and pertussis are associated with a 15% reduction in the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Rubella in childhood is associated with a decrease in the risk of various types of cancer (not including breast cancer) by 62%, and chickenpox by 38%. Measles and mumps are associated with a 10-15% reduction in cancer risk (but with no statistical significance).
One or more childhood febrile illnesses are associated with a 73% reduction in risk of cancer.

Childhood diseases are associated with a reduced risk of melanoma (but with no statistical significance).
Colds / flu are associated with a 68% reduction in risk of melanoma.
An infected wound is associated with a 79% reduction in risk of melanoma, and a chronic infectious disease with a 68% reduction in risk of melanoma.

Almost all infectious diseases are associated with reduction in melanoma risk: influenza is associated with melanoma risk reduction by 35%, pneumonia – by 55%, staphylococcus infection – by 46%. This apparent dose-response relationship suggests a causal association.

Measles is associated with a 47% reduced risk of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The risk of lymphocytic leukemia is inversely associated with amount of childhood diseases (mumps, chickenpox, whooping cough, etc.). One or two childhood diseases reduced the risk by 16%, three or more diseases - by 53%.

Colds, fever and childhood infectious diseases are inversely associated with risk of leukemia.
A few similar papers:

Those who had measles in childhood had a 66% lower risk of Hodgkin lymphoma than those who did not. Measles is also associated with a 40% lower risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Chickenpox is associated with a 47% reduction in the risk of lymphoma.
The risk of Hodgkin lymphoma was also lower in those who had mumps, rubella, whooping cough and scarlet fever. The more infectious diseases there were in childhood, the lower the risk of lymphoma. Three childhood diseases are associated with a 40% reduction in the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and an 80% reduction in the risk of Hodgkin lymphoma.

Measles is associated with a 53% decrease in the risk of ovarian cancer, mumps decreases the risk by 39%, rubella – by 38%, and chickenpox by 34%. Pregnancy is associated with a 73% reduction in the risk of ovarian cancer.

Three children with confirmed Hodgkin lymphoma got measles. After the recovery, they all went into remission. Two of them had a minor relapse within two years. The third's remission lasts for 6 years. (Poland)

A similar case in Portugal. A 2-year old child was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (lymphogranulomatosis). Before they managed to start radiotherapy, the boy contracted measles and the lymphoma disappeared. After 6 months of remission, the mother found redness in the face and neck of the baby after he drank the wine. It turned out that there was a minor relapse of lymphoma.
The article does not report why the mother let her two-year-old child drink wine, how long has she been doing this, and whether this was related to the initial disease.

A similar case in Nigeria in 1981. Also a case of lymphoma remission after contracting measles had been documented in 1949 in Cuba.

A 8-year-old boy suffered from extremely swollen eye, so he no longer could see, and he was diagnosed with Burkitt's lymphoma. 10 days after the diagnosis, he contracted measles, after which the tumor disappeared within two weeks, and he fully recovered.

Of the four cases of lymphoblastic leukemia in 1965, two patients had died and two other contracted measles during treatment and are alive to this day (1971). In addition to measles, one girl also contracted rubella. The author believes that the rubella virus may also have a beneficial effect.

In 2014, a woman was cured of multiple myeloma using a huge dose of recombinant measles virus.
Currently, clinical trials are being conducted on treatment of various oncological diseases with measles virus.
Successful use of the measles virus to treat skin cancer in five patients is reported here. An explanation on how measles virus destroys melanoma cells is provided here.
Measles virus has also been used successfully to treat ovarian cancer [1],[2]. The virus turned out to be much more effective than Avastin, which is currently a trending, but also very toxic and very expensive cancer drug.

Since 1960, the incidence of Hodgkin's lymphoma in Israel has significantly increased.
The authors believe that this is due to the fact that after the start of measles vaccination, more people get measles in adulthood. The authors found measles antibodies in 54% of the biopsies in which Hodgkin's lymphoma was diagnosed. According to their hypothesis, measles virus can act as an oncogenic factor. Other laboratories, however, have failed to found an association between measles virus and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

A case-control analysis of Parkinson's disease and infections in childhood was conducted in a cohort of 50,002 Harvard College and the University of Pennsylvania graduates. Those who had measles in childhood had a 2-fold lower risk of Parkinson's disease. Chickenpox and mumps also reduced Parkinson's risk.
More similar studies: [1], [2]
A measles vaccine, on the contrary, sometimes causes Parkinson’s in children.

Males who had measles in childhood had 8% lower risk of dying as a result of cardio-vascular diseases. Those who also had mumps had 20% lower risk.
Males who had mumps had 48% lower risk of dying as a result of a stroke.
Women who had measles and mumps had 17% lower risk of dying as a result of cardio-vascular diseases.

Measles is associated with a 30% reduction in the risk of heart attack, chickenpox – with 33% reduction, scarlet fever – with 31%, mumps – with 25% reduction, rubella – with 9%, and mononucleosis – with 33%. The more of these infectious diseases a person suffered in childhood, the lower the likelihood of a heart attack. In those who had a single disease, the risk of heart attack was lower by 35%. Two childhood diseases reduce the risk by 40%, three by 47%, four and five diseases by 54%, and all six of these diseases together reduced the risk of heart attack by 89%.
In those who suffered from a heart attack, the LDL ("bad cholesterol") level was 2.41 mmol/L. On the contrary, in the control group (who did not have a heart attack), it was 3.67 mmol/L (statins, anyone?)

Those who had measles and other infectious diseases in early childhood have lower occurrence of MS. Similar studies: [1],[2]

5 patients with nephrotic syndrome contracted measles. In two of them, the syndrome had resolved after recovery from measles. Three others only had a temporary improvement.
The authors analyzed the medical literature, and found a few more cases of nephrotic syndrome resolution after measles, and more common cases of temporary improvement.
The authors report that measles happen to be the most effective treatment for nephrotic syndrome of all the methods they have used.

This article describes a severe case of nephrotic syndrome in English ten-year-old boy in 1916. The child was sick for many months and was in a critical condition. The doctors estimated he would not survive, and his family had already bought mourning clothes. But suddenly he got measles, and recovered from nephrotic syndrome completely. For years after that, he wore his brothers` mourning costumes. In adulthood, this child became a famous pediatrician, a professor, and a president of the national pediatric association.

Those who did not have measles in childhood (or did have had atypical measles, without a rash, similar to post-vaccination "measles-like symptoms"), in adulthood had an increased risk of:
1) immunoreactive diseases (autoimmune diseases due to an infectious disease),
2) skin diseases (dermatitis, eczema, etc.),
3) degenerative diseases of the bone and cartilage (osteoarthrosis, etc.),
4) oncological diseases.

A study conducted in a village in Senegal. During measles outbreak, 66 children had contracted measles and 149 had not. They had been followed for 4 years after recovery. In children who had measles, the risk of death from other infectious diseases was 86% lower. Most patients were unvaccinated.
Similar results were observed in Guinea Bissau (mortality among those who had measles was 50% lower), as well as in other Senegal study] (4 times lower mortality among those who had measles) and in Bangladesh.

In Guinea-Bissau among children who had measles, allergies were 3 times less common than in vaccinated children who did not have measles. They also had dust mite allergy 5 times less often.
This is explained by the fact that measles virus stimulates cellular immunity, while humoral immunity is responsible for allergies.
Children who were breast-fed for more than a year, and children in whose houses pigs lived, also suffered from allergies less often. Judging by indirect evidence, infections protect against allergies only if the infection occurs at an early age. Most likely, the reaction of T cells to allergens matures until 5-7 years of age, and until that time it changes under the influence of environmental factors, such as infections.
In another study, measles or whooping cough before the age of three years was associated with a reduced risk of asthma.

A study on 14,900 children from five European countries. In those who had measles, allergies were 2 times less common. Vaccination reduced incidence of allergies as well, but not as much as measles.
Amongst those who didn't have measles, the risk of rhinoconjunctivitis was 70% higher in vaccinated than in unvaccinated.
11% of children who were previously vaccinated had measles. On the other side, 31% of unvaccinated children did not get measles. One more similar study.
Antibiotics in the first year of life are associated with 2-fold increase in risk of rhinoconjunctivitis, 2.8-fold increase in risk of asthma, 1.6 fold – of eczema. Antipyretics are associated with an increase in the risk of asthma by 54% and eczema by 32%.

Those who had measles had lower incidence of allergic diseases. One more: [1].

Those who were not vaccinated with MMR had 33% lower incidence of allergies. Those who ate mostly organic foods had 37% lower incidence of allergies.
Allergies were also less common in those who did not use antibiotics, did not use antipyretics, had measles, ate fermented vegetables, or were breast-fed for at least 4 months.

This is a study I'd already mentioned in another chapter (Para. 10 in "Unvaccinated). Those who were vaccinated with MMR had 3.5-fold higher incidence of asthma, and 4.5-fold higher incidence of eczema.

Five patients with eczema and egg allergy had measles. A month later the symptoms of eczema improved significantly in four of them. The fifth had a temporary improvement.

Initial analysis of 10 articles (for a meta-analysis). According to indirect markers, infectious diseases are associated with a 20% reduction of risk of dermatitis, 30% reduction of risk of allergic rhinitis and 40% reduction of risk of asthma.

Nodding syndrome is a new fatal disease found exclusively in some countries in Africa. It's incidence was 7-fold lower in children who had measles.

The level of interferon-alpha (cytokine, responsible for immunity from viral diseases) was reduced in children vaccinated against measles. This study lasted a year and interferon levels have not yet recovered during this period.

MMR significantly reduces the function of neutrophilic leukocytes (i.e. increases susceptibility to infections). This is most likely because vaccine strains do not reproduce in lymphatic tissues like wild strains do.

The authors tested the reaction of lymphocytes to candida in vaccinated patients and found that MMR leads to reduced lymphocyte function, which lasts 1-5 weeks after vaccination. The lymphocyte function is not restored until 10-12 weeks after vaccination. Other studies have shown similar results.

Cochrane's systematic review of MMR efficiency and safety. The vaccine efficacy is 95% against measles and 88% against mumps.
The vaccine increases the risk of aseptic meningitis by a factor of 14-22 (Urabe and Leningrad-Zagreb strains), the risk of febrile convulsions by a factor of 4-5.7, the risk of thrombocytopenic purpura by a factor of 2.4-6.3.
The authors conclude that clinical and post-clinical safety studies of MMR are largely inadequate and that it is not possible to separate the role of the vaccine in preventing disease from the side effects it causes.
They recommend improving the format and reporting of clinical and post-clinical trials, and standardizing the side effects definitions. It is also required to test the longevity of MMR protective effect.

A study of the side effects of MMR in Iran (43,000 vaccinated children). 1.8% of the vaccinated contracted mumps as a result of the vaccination. Two suffered encephalopathy and two more had anaphylactic shock. That is, the risk of encephalopathy and anaphylactic shock is about 1 in 20,000, rather than "one in a million", as usually claimed.
The risk of convulsions (not febrile) was 1 in 2,000 vaccinations in infants. The risk of febrile seizures was 1 in 1750.

Study of side effects of 4 different MMR vaccines. 38,000 children were vaccinated. With the standard vaccine, aseptic meningitis (with a laboratory-confirmed vaccine strain of mumps in cerebrospinal fluid) was diagnosed in one in every 600 vaccinated children (aseptic meningitis in general was found in one in 400 after the standard MMR). One in every 350 vaccinated people had non-Meningitis related convulsions (40% of them had non-febrile convulsions).
One of the vaccines did not cause aseptic meningitis. It turned out that its manufacturer had done something wrong about the vaccine strains and did not report it.
In other countries, post-MMR aseptic meningitis was a less common finding (1:4000 to 1:282000) for whatever reason.
As a result of this study the Japanese Ministry of Health banned the use of MMR in 1993, and it is not used there till this day. (The study was being conducted from October 1991 to April 1993, and was published in 1996)

A healthy 12-month-old child was vaccinated with MMR, and in 8.5 months he developed encephalitis (MIBE). A brain biopsy revealed a vaccine strain of measles causing it. The child died after 1.5 months. A few more cases have been reported, but those usually occur to immunocompromised persons rather than to healthy ones.
In general, MIBE is the same panencephalitis (SSPE), a rare measles complication that occurs several years after the disease itself, but MIBE develops within a shorter timeframe and much more aggressive. Another similar case.
In another study out of nine cases of panencephalitis, three patients were vaccinated and two were not. The remaining patients' vaccination status is unknown.
The increase in the proportion of SSPE cases following measles vaccination is reported here. It is also noted that SSPE following vaccination has a shorter incubation period than SSPE following measles infection.

Despite the decrease in cases of measles-induced encephalitis after vaccination, the total number of encephalitis cases has not changed, apparently measles only has been replaced by other viruses.
In Finland the incidence of severe encephalitis cases has only increased since the introduction of MMR.
Here is a report on the measles epidemic in Vietnam in 2008 among 20-year-olds. Out of 15 cases of measles-induced encephalitis, 11 patients were vaccinated, 2 patients were not, and status of the remaining 2 was unknown.
The CDC claims that the mortality rate of measles-induced encephalitis is 15%. However, before the introduction of the vaccine, its fatality was much lower. In 1961 there were 42 reported cases of measles-induced encephalitis with no fatalities.
Case report of measles-induced encephalitis following by disability and blindness in a girl after measles vaccination in 1969.
The risk of measles-induced encephalitis increases with age. Essentially, the vaccine, which actually pushes the disease to a later date, significantly increases the risk of measles-induced encephalitis.
A 2017 British study reported that although the number of cases of measles-induced and mumps-induced encephalitis decreased by 97-98% between 1979 and 2011, the overall incidence of encephalitis increased, mainly among infants.

A study of 48 children who suffered encephalopathy after MMR. The authors conclude that there is likely to be a causal link between MMR and encephalopathy.

Mortality between vaccinated and non-vaccinated against measles has never been compared. However, several clinical trials in Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Gambia compared mortality associated with different measles vaccines, and found that in girls who were given high-titre vaccines, it was 86% higher than in girls who received a medium-titre vaccine.
WHO has recommended the use of the high-titre vaccine since 1989, and who knows how many girls the vaccine has killed. It is also unknown whether the mortality rate would have been further reduced if a low-titre vaccine had been used instead of a medium-titre vaccine, or if children had not been vaccinated against measles at all.

It is actually a coincidence that a vaccine with high titers has been found to significantly increase the mortality, since this mortality happens a year, or even a few years after the vaccination. Most studies do not last that long. The above-mentioned study led the NIH to propose to study this phenomenon! Others have proposed mass vaccination campaigns and the eradication of measles, as was done with polio. Some suggested vaccination with two doses. But that's the way it is done anyway, even without someone formally ivestigating whether it leads to a reduction in mortality at all.
The authors call for randomized research and the use of mortality rather than surrogate markers, such as the number of antibodies, as a measure of vaccine efficacy.
The experiments with this vaccine were carried out not only in Africa, but also on Afro-Americans in Los Angeles, while it was "overlooked" to inform them that the vaccine was experimental.

- The role of cellular immunity in protecting against measles is unclear. And if we understood it, we could develop a more effective vaccine.
- Because of the vaccination, measles has started to affect adult and pregnant women in Senegal. Measles is most dangerous for both mother and child during pregnancy.
- The fact that more girls have died who received a vaccine with high titers is probably not because the vaccine with high titers is less safe, but because the vaccine with medium titers has a beneficial effect on mortality, which a vaccine with high titers does not have. Probably. However, this hypothesis does not explain why the mortality was only higher for girls but not for the boys. But we (the authors) still think this hypothesis is reasonable.
- It is known that people who had measles have higher life expectancy, and that measles has a beneficial effect on the immune system. Therefore, we can assume that the same effect is given by the vaccination! There is no research to show that the reduction in mortality in developing countries is a consequence of just prevented measles cases and not some non-specific effect of the vaccine. Therefore, it would be unwise to stop vaccinating even after measles has been eradicated, as child mortality could increase again.
- Moreover, even if eradication should be possible, it might be unwise to stop measles vaccination because the waning immunity would make measles a likely weapon for bio-terrorism.

The incidence of emergency room visits in the period from the 4th to 12th day after the 12-month vaccination was 33% higher, and 2-fold higher than controls on the 9th day after the vaccination. Between the 10th and 12th days after the 18-month vaccination, the incidence was increased by 25%, and on the 12th day by 34%. This analysis does not include children who died after being vaccinated. Moreover, the control group in this study did not include non-vaccinated children, but rather the same children, just 20-28 days after vaccination.

The incidence of emergency room visits following 12-months vaccination was 35% higher, and for girls it was 8% higher than for boys. This may be because the girls' weight is lower, or maybe because they react differently to the measles virus.

Children vaccinated with MMR were 70% more likely to have acute lymphatic leukemia.
This meta-analysis, however, did not find an increased risk of leukemia following MMR vaccination.

The risk of serious neurological disease increases 5.7-fold 6-11 days following MMR vaccination.

The risk of thrombocytopenia increases 5.5 times following MMR vaccination. More: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9].
The risk of thrombocytopenia also increases following vaccination against chickenpox, TdaP and hepatitis A in older children.

The risk of febrile seizures in infants under 12 months of age who received DTP vaccination was 9.3 times higher on the day of vaccination than in children who weren't recently vaccinated.
The risk of febrile seizures in those who received MMR vaccination was 2.8 times higher during period of 8-14 days after the vaccination.
In another study, the risk of febrile seizures after MMR was 6 times higher. Similar studies: [1], [2], [3]

Measles immunization is associated with a 92-fold increase in the risk of multiple sclerosis.
There are 9 reported cases of multiple sclerosis that started immediately after vaccination.

According to VAERS, 174 people have died and 742 became disabled since 2000 after being vaccinated with MMR or MMRV. During this time 4 people have died due to measles. In 2015, there was a single case of measles death in 12 years (women with chemotherapy immune deficiency). Prior to that, there were two cases in the early 2000s: an immunocompromised boy and a 75-year-old man.
On the other hand, influenza reportedly causes thousands of deaths a year in the United States. Nevertheless, almost no one is afraid of influenza while measles for some reason causes full-scale horror.
In Switzerland, one person has died of measles in the last 7 years. He was vaccinated (and he also had chemotherapy-compromised immune system). Vaccination rates in Switzerland are relatively low.

In Autumn 2017 the measles epidemic in Europe has been a major threat. Since 2016, 14,000 cases have been reported, mostly in Romania and Italy, and 42 people have died in these two years, almost all in Romania.
The media have caught up with such fear that people in a panic are cancelling their planned trips to Europe, and those who are not – hasten to vaccinate their children even before the age of 12 months, despite the fact that the safety of this vaccination has not been established for infants under one year of age. Moreover, it is known that vaccination up to one year is ineffective, so it is not considered as a routine vaccination at all, and it is necessary to get vaccinated again after reaching the age of 12 months.

Here is the chart of measles cases in Europe since 2008. It evidently shows that the incidence of measles in Europe is cyclical, and there were much more cases in 2010-2011. Measles has always been a cyclical disease, even in pre-vaccination times.

source

All who died of measles (as of February 2017 there were 16 people) were without exception either immunocompromised or with other co-morbidities. The first three cases (there is no data on the rest) were children up to one year old, that is, those who still could not be vaccinated anyway.
Most cases are registered in poor villages, with, apparently, predominantly Romani population. [1], [2], [3], [4].

Romany have low vitamin A level, and therefore they suffer from measles more severely. Most often, children under one-year-old and adults contract the disease. Gypsies live in difficult, crowded conditions, and are generally malnourished.
Another study showing that Romany have low levels of vitamins A, C, and E. (It also turns out that 78% of Romany mothers smoke).
It also turns out that in Europe even a malnourished child with low vitamin A level cannot die of measles. To do this, they must also have a weakened immune system (usually this refers to patients with cancer or rare genetic diseases), but vaccination is contraindicated for such children.

In May 2017, 15 children in South Sudan died after receiving a defective measles vaccine.
In 2014, 75 children in Syria received a measles vaccine, which was accidentally diluted with atracuria (muscle relaxant) instead of with water. At least 15 have died. According to other sources, at least 34 died.

Since the 1920s to the 1960s, before the vaccination against measles even began, measles mortality decreased by 99%, although the number of cases remained unchanged.
In the 1960s, measles mortality was 1 in 10,000 cases, or 2 per million people overall. Most of the measles-related deaths were children with insufficient weight and height. The same thing was revealed in a later study – children with low weight suffer from severe measles 6 times more often.

In England, measles-related mortality also declined exponentially year after year before the vaccine introduction.

During the American Civil War and World War I, measles was a significant cause of death among soldiers (0.2/100 person-years, fatality rate of 6%). On the other hand, during the World War II, measles mortality was extremely low (0.0005/100 person-years, fatality rate less than 0.1%).
The authors note that the reduction in measles mortality among military personnel reflects the situation among the civilian population. This decrease was preceded by the availability of vaccines and antibiotics, and was not associated with any specific medical intervention.

In 2015, a study was published in the Science magazine, claiming that measles supposedly erases immune memory (Another study on this subject was published in Science in November 2019, as well as many other articles in various magazines before). This urban legend had been since picked up by all the mass media. In this lecture, Dr. Suzanne Humphries analyzes this study in detail. In short, this is not a study per se, but rather just a mathematical model using various assumptions, and based on a partial data sample.
Dr. Suzanne Humphries - Manufactured Consent (Denmark, 2015) (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5)

Measles are dangerous in case of malnutrition and vitamin A deficiency. Personally, I have a bottle of vitamin A just in case. And, of course, some vitamin C, to prevent bacterial complications. (Vitamin A is toxic in large doses and should not be taken thoughtlessly, especially during pregnancy).
Measles in childhood protects against cancer, neurological, cardiovascular and atopic diseases in adulthood.
Measles vaccine is quite effective (90% for period of 10 to 20 years for two MMR doses, while additional doses have little to no effect), but in the case of measles it is rather a disadvantage. Measles is a useful disease, it is preferable to contract it in childhood rather than not to have it at all, or to get sick in adulthood or during pregnancy, when the vaccination no longer offers protection and measles is more dangerous.