Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis - A fatal complication of measles

Authors : Mohandeep Kaur, Michell Gulabani, Vinod Bala Dhir, Rao Pal Singh

DOI : 10.18231/2394-4994.2018.0028

Volume : 5

Issue : 1

Year : 0

Page No : 159-161

Subacute Sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), also known as Dawson’s disease or measles encephalitis, is an extremely rare and fatal subacute infection caused by a persistent defective measles virus (MV). It mostly develops 7-10 years after initial MV infection and is fatal within 3 years from onset of symptoms.¹
Measles virus infection before 2 years of age has 16 times higher risk of developing SSPE as compared to infection occurring after five years of age.²
SSPE is a progressive, degenerative disease of the central nervous system that occurs several years after measles infection.
Saha et al reported an annual incidence of 21 per million population in India³ as compared to 2.4 per million population in the middle east.^4-5 
By this case report, we aim to stress on the certitude that the only definitive prevention against SSPE is timely measles vaccination.

Keywords: SSPE, Measles, Vaccination.

Citation Data