Contracting measles opens the door to a host of other complications, new research shows, according to CNN, affirming the importance of getting vaccinated.
According to a study published in the journal BMJ Case Reports, about a third of people who have measles also have complications such as pneumonia, hepatitis and viral meningitis, which develop because the measles infection has weakened the body's immune system.
The study details the cases of three adults with measles and additional complications resulting from the measles infection in Malta. Each of the measles patients had developed a complication: hepatitis, appendicitis or viral meningitis.
The patient who had measles and hepatitis had only received one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, even though full vaccination coverage requires two doses. The other two patients had not received the MMR vaccine at all.
"Vaccine education and compliance with the two-dose measles vaccine should be implemented worldwide," study authors concluded.