Health
How Measles Attacks an Unvaccinated Child
For a child who is not vaccinated against measles — one of the world’s most infectious viruses — no classroom, school bus or grocery store is safe. Nine out of 10 unvaccinated people exposed to an infected person will catch it, and once measles takes root, the virus can damage the lungs, kidneys and the brain.
With falling U.S. vaccination rates and outbreaks that have caused more than 580 cases and at least one death, health experts expect measles to infect hundreds or even thousands more across the nation. Here is how measles takes over the body.
Unlike viruses that require person-to-person contact, measles lingers in the air for up to two hours after the person carrying it has left the space.
A child can inhale virus-containing droplets in a room where another child — unknowingly infected with measles — has been studying or playing an hour earlier. The virus can enter her body through the lining of her nose or mouth, or when she’s rubbing her eyes.
During the subsequent 24 hours, the virus takes root by lodging in her nasopharynx cells in the upper part of the throat and starts spreading to her lungs.
Then, the virus takes over, multiplying inside the cells and building up an army for an attack.
Within a few days, the virus begins to spread to infect the nearby lymphoid tissues. About a week after the initial exposure, infected cells begin traveling to other organs throughout the body. (At this time, the immune system of a vaccinated child would recognize the virus and fight it off.)
Typically, during the replication and spread of the virus, the child does not feel sick. The average incubation period is about two weeks — though it can range from one to three. When the viral load has increased significantly, it moves to infect other cells of the lungs and eyes, making the child feel ill.
A couple of weeks after the unvaccinated child inhales the droplets, she starts feeling sick.
Children often first show signs of malaise and a fever, followed later by reddish, irritated eyes, a cough and a stuffy nose as the mucus membranes and nasal passages become inflamed.
Some children at this stage develop millimeter-wide, whitish-gray bumps on the inner lining of the cheeks, as far back as the molars. For some, the spots go undetected, or do not show up at all.
Then comes the characteristic feature: the breakout of a red rash, starting on the face and spreading down the neck, trunk, and extremities.
Many of these symptoms should resolve themselves. The rash can last up to a week, often fading along the same route it appeared. The cough can last for up to two weeks after the illness has resolved. But a fever lasting beyond the third or fourth day of the rash suggests that a complication could be developing — and that is where cases can become dangerous.
Even as the rash fades, the infection can spread to the lungs and other organs.
Children are typically brought to the hospital after having the body rash for several days. Most have low oxygen levels and are laboring to breathe and need support, said Dr. Summer Davies, who sees children at Covenant Children’s Hospital in Lubbock, Texas, and has been treating measles cases there since the outbreak started in late January.
“A lot of families have kind of been surprised, like, ‘Oh, my child was fine, and then all of a sudden, they’re not,’ ” she said.
That mild disease evolves into a fever as high as 104 or 105 degrees for two, three or four days. Poor fluid intake, a sore throat and diarrhea can lead to dehydration, which over time can begin to threaten kidney function.
Young children are more at risk because of their smaller anatomy and their inability to articulate symptoms clearly, explained Dr. Lara Johnson, the chief medical officer of a group of Covenant hospitals in the area.
About one in 20 children with measles will develop pneumonia, an infection in the lungs; and severe cases can be fatal.
Dr. Davies said many children admitted to her hospital recently had cases of pneumonia caused by either the measles virus or by a second pathogen that attacked while their immune systems were weakened.
The 6-year-old girl who recently died of measles in Texas had a case of pneumonia that caused fluid to build up in her left lung, making it difficult for her to breathe, according to a video interview with her parents that was posted online. She was eventually sedated and intubated, but she became too sick to survive.
One of the hallmarks of measles is what researchers call “immune amnesia,” the temporary weakening of the immune system. Measles wipes the protection children have acquired from other infections, which leaves them susceptible to other infections for several months or even years.
Inflammation in the brain
About one in 1,000 children who contract measles will also develop encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain tissue, which can result in permanent damage.
For infants or children who are already immunocompromised, a condition called measles inclusion body encephalitis (or MIBE) occurs when the child cannot clear the infection. It can trigger mental changes and seizures, leading to a coma and death in most patients.
Another type, called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), is a degenerative condition that can occur up to a decade after a measles infection. Children often first show signs of behavior change and academic decline, followed by seizures, motor issues like poor coordination and balance, and eventually death. The mortality rate approaches 95 percent.
Erica Finkelstein-Parker, a mother in Pennsylvania who lost her 8-year-old child Emmalee to the condition, had not known that the girl had had measles before she had been adopted from India as a toddler. But she noticed one day that Emmalee was tripping and falling, slumping over to one side of her chair and struggling to lift her chin off her chest during dinner.
Doctors explained that there was no cure. Emmalee passed away about five months later.
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Cases of gout are rising in younger individuals, according to a global study.
The condition, which is a type of inflammatory arthritis, steadily increased in people aged 15 to 39 between 1990 and 2021, researchers in China announced.
Although rates vary widely between countries, the total number of young people with the condition is expected to continue rising through 2035.
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The study, published in the journal Joint Bone Spine, investigated 2021 data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), spanning 204 countries within the 30-year timeframe.
The data measured gout prevalence, incidence and years lived with disability, tracking global trends over time. The results showed a global increase across all three outcomes.
Gout is expected to continue rising in young people through 2035. (iStock)
Prevalence and disability years increased by 66%, and incidence rose by 62%. In 2021, 15- to 39-year-olds accounted for nearly 14% of new gout cases globally, the study found.
Men from 35 to 39 years old and people in high-income regions had the highest burden, but high-income North America topped the list for highest rates.
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Men were also found to have lived more years with gout due to high BMI, while women tended to have the condition as a link to kidney dysfunction, the study noted.
The total number of cases is expected to increase globally due to population growth, but the study projected that rates per population would decrease.
The researchers noted that data quality, especially in low-income settings, could have posed a limitation to the broad GBD data.
What is gout?
Gout is a common form of arthritis involving sudden and severe attacks of pain, swelling, redness and tenderness in the joints, according to Mayo Clinic. It most often occurs in the big toe.
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The condition occurs when urate crystals accumulate in the joint. These form when there are high levels of uric acid in the blood, which the body produces when it breaks down a natural substance called purines.
A gout flare-up can happen at any time, often at night, causing the affected joint to feel hot, swollen, tender and sensitive to the touch.
Urate crystals, described as sharp and needle-like, build up in the joint, causing intense pain and swelling. (iStock)
Purines can also be found in certain foods, like red meat or organ meats like liver and some seafood, including anchovies, sardines, mussels, scallops, trout and tuna, according to the Mayo Clinic. Alcoholic drinks, especially beer, and drinks sweetened with fruit sugar can also lead to higher uric acid levels.
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Uric acid will typically dissolve in the blood and pass through the kidneys into urine, but when the body produces too much or too little uric acid, it can cause a build-up of urate crystals. These are described by the Mayo Clinic as sharp and needle-like, causing pain, inflammation and swelling in the joint or surrounding tissue.
Risk factors for gout include a diet rich in high-purine foods and being overweight, which causes the body to produce more uric acid and the kidneys to have trouble eliminating it.
Experts urge patients to seek medical attention for gout flare-ups. (iStock)
Certain conditions like untreated high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome and heart and kidney diseases can increase the risk of gout, as well as certain medications.
A family history of gout can also increase risk. Men are more likely to develop the condition, as women tend to have lower uric acid levels, although symptoms generally develop after menopause.
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Untreated gout can cause worsening pain and joint damage, experts caution. It may also lead to more severe conditions, such as recurrent gout, advanced gout and kidney stones.
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The Mayo Clinic advises patients to seek immediate medical care if a fever occurs or if a joint becomes hot and inflamed, which is a sign of infection. Certain anti-inflammatory medications can help treat gout flares and complications.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.
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A new study suggests that annual mammograms may not be the only effective approach for preventing breast cancer.
The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), tested a risk-based breast cancer screening approach against standard annual mammography.
The WISDOM randomized clinical trial, led by study authors from universities and healthcare systems across the U.S., considered more than 28,000 women aged 40 to 74 years old, splitting them into a risk-based screening group and an annual mammography group.
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Researchers calculated each woman’s individual risk based on genetics (sequencing of nine breast cancer genes) and other health factors.
A new study suggests that annual mammograms may not be the only effective approach for preventing breast cancer. (iStock)
Those who were at the highest risk were advised to alternate between a mammogram and an MRI scan every six months. Patients with elevated risk were told to get an annual mammography and counseling.
Average-risk women were guided to get mammograms every two years, while low-risk individuals were advised to have no screening until they became higher risk or reached age 50.
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The researchers found that risk-based screening did not lead to more advanced cancer diagnoses (stage 2B or higher) compared with annual screening, indicating that it is just as safe as traditional methods. The risk-based approach, however, did not reduce the number of biopsies overall, as researchers had hoped.
Among the risk-based group of women, those with higher risk had more screening, biopsies and detected cancers. Women at lower risk had fewer procedures.
The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), tested a risk-based breast cancer screening approach against standard annual mammography. (iStock)
“[The] findings suggest that risk-based breast cancer screening is a safe alternative to annual screening for women aged 40 to 74 years,” the researchers noted in the research summary. “Screening intensity matched individual risk, potentially reducing unnecessary imaging.”
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Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier, associate professor of radiology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New Jersey, commented that while these findings are important, the study “completely sidelines” what screenings are designed to do — detect cancer early.
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“If you don’t measure stage 0, stage 1 or stage 2A cancers, you can’t tell whether personalized screening delays diagnosis in a way that matters for survival and treatment intensity,” Saphier, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
Those who were at the highest risk were advised to alternate between a mammogram and an MRI scan every six months. (iStock)
More than 60% of breast cancers in the U.S. are diagnosed at stage 1 or 2A, where cure rates exceed 90%, the doctor noted.
The trial doesn’t “fully evaluate” whether risk-based screening changes detection at the earliest and most treatable stages, where screening “delivers its greatest benefit,” according to Saphier.
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“Mammography is not without risk — radiation exposure, false positives, anxiety and potential over-diagnosis are real and should be acknowledged,” she said. “But it remains the most effective, evidence-based tool for detecting breast cancer early, when treatment is most successful.”
The expert added that labeling women under 50 as “low risk” is “outdated,” as breast cancer diagnoses are on the rise in younger females.
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“Until long-term mortality data support alternative approaches, annual screening beginning at 40 for average risk women should continue,” Saphier added. “Women should be assessed for breast cancer risk by 25 years old to determine if screening should begin earlier.”
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