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TIL of Dawson disease, a horrific complication of measles (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted 10 months ago by to c/todayilearned@lemmy.ml
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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.

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[–] [S] 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months 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 ratios in progressive populations where some are really dumb.

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