Measles- who suffers most?
A 2024 case report describes a ten-month-old female who developed viremia, meningoencephalitis, and multi-organ failure after receiving the live-attenuated measles vaccine. Whole-genome sequencing revealed a homozygous loss-of-function mutation in IFNAR2, abolishing type-I interferon signaling and leaving the child vulnerable to severe viral disease. The authors note that defects in IFNAR2 define immunodeficiency-45 and that carriers of such mutations are at high risk for life-threatening complications from either natural measles infection or the live vaccine itself . Poland and co-workers have repeatedly shown that common single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the measles virus receptors CD46 and SLAM, as well as in TLR3, TLR7, TLR8, RIG-I, and multiple HLA class I and II loci, significantly modulate cytokine release, antibody production, and cellular immunity after measles exposure or vaccination. Individuals carrying the “low-response” alleles mount weaker antiviral res...