Several children have come down with serious complications like encephalitis and pneumonia, state health officials reported this week.
The ongoing measles outbreak in South Carolina is causing serious, even life-threatening, health issues for some unfortunate children.
This week, the South Carolina Department of Public Health issued its latest update on the outbreak. Officials detailed that at least 19 people in the state have been hospitalized for severe measles complications, including several children who developed brain swelling, or encephalitis, as a result of infection. There have been nearly 900 cases documented in the state since last October.
“These are complications we hope to prevent. And increasing vaccination coverage protects those who cannot be vaccinated like young infants, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems,” said state epidemiologist Linda Bell in a press conference held Thursday by the department.Measles encephalitis
Encephalitis is a well-known, if rare, complication of measles, estimated to occur in about one out of every 1,000 cases.
The condition can be triggered by the virus reaching the brain during infection or by a wayward immune response to brain cells that emerges after the initial illness fades away.
