The horrific measles complication that can kill you years later — as nearly 200 cases confirmed across US

Measles is back with a vengeance — and the danger doesn’t end when the rash fades.

The US saw a dramatic rise in cases last year, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting the highest numbers of the highly contagious respiratory disease in more than 30 years.

And the numbers keep climbing. Federal data shows that at least 171 Americans across nine states were infected in just the first two weeks of 2026.

Measles often starts like a common cold, causing a cough, runny nose, sore throat and watery eyes, before escalating to a high fever and the telltale red rash that spreads across the body.

Pneumonia is the most common complication. But there’s another threat most people don’t realize: a deadly neurological disease that can strike decades after the initial infection.

“The measles is sort of sitting around in your brain and causing, on the cellular level, changes that sit there quietly. And 10, 20-plus years later, they come and destroy your brain,” Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, told The Post.

This rare complication, called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), usually starts with subtle personality changes, like memory loss, irritability or mood swings. Over time, it progresses to involuntary muscle spasms, loss of coordination, severe brain damage, coma — and almost always death.

Between four and 11 out of every 100,000 measles cases result in SSPE. If a child was under 5 when infected, the risk jumps to 18 per 100,000.

“You could have had your measles as a 2-year-old, and now you’re in college, and all of a sudden your brain falls apart and you have no future,” Nachman said.

“And people go, ‘Oh my god. How did this happen? What happened?’ And they don’t remember that you had measles 20 years ago,” she continued. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

There’s no known cure, with SSPE killing 95% of people who develop it. In some cases, antiviral and anti-inflammatory drugs may slow the disease, but the outlook remains grim.

Usually, the US sees only four or five SSPE cases per year — though that number is expected to rise alongside climbing measles infections.

“If you look at the numbers now of how many cases of documented measles — and we assume that it’s at least triple that amount that are undocumented measles — you can do the math and see how many cases we’re going to see in the next few years,” Nachman said.

The consequences are already being felt. Last year, a school-aged child in LA died after developing SSPE. They had contracted measles as an infant, before they were old enough to receive the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. 

The MMR shot is 97% effective at preventing measles and is routinely recommended for kids between 12 and 15 months old. A second dose is given before kindergarten or first grade.

“Infants too young to be vaccinated rely on all of us to help protect them through community immunity,” LA County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis said in a statement in September. 

“Vaccination is not just about protecting yourself — it’s about protecting your family, your neighbors and especially children who are too young to be vaccinated.”

Yet, US inoculation rates have dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent report found that 92.5% of kindergarteners were vaccinated against MMR for the 2024–25 school year, down 2.5% from 2019–20.

That’s well below the 95% threshold public health experts say is necessary to prevent outbreaks.

“Declining vaccination rates stem partly from fraudulent research attempting to link the MMR vaccine to autism — claims by a now-discredited doctor that have been thoroughly debunked,” Benedict Michael, a professor in infectious neuroscience at the University of Liverpool in the UK, wrote in The Conversation last year. 

“Social media misinformation has amplified these fears, potentially worsened by COVID pandemic skepticism around vaccines.”

MMR side effects are usually mild, such as rash, fever, swollen glands or soreness at the injection site. Rarely, severe reactions can occur, including allergies, seizures, Guillain-Barré syndrome or spinal cord inflammation.

Last year, the CDC confirmed 2,242 measles cases in the US, 93% of which were in unvaccinated people or those with unknown vaccination status.

Of those, 245 were hospitalized, and three died.