by Claudia Boyd-Barrett posted in Parenting

Could getting a measles vaccine protect your child from other diseases too"
Researchers at Princeton University think so. In a recent study published in the journal Science, they presented evidence to suggest that measles vaccines help ward off immune system problems that can leave kids susceptible to a variety of infections for years.
The scientists used computer models to analyze disease data from Denmark, England, Wales and the U.S. dating back as far as the 1940?s (before measles vaccines were introduced). They showed that, by calculating the number of measles cases in a given period, they could predict the number of children dying from other diseases 2 or 3 years later.
Experts have known for a long time that childhood deaths in general decline after measles vaccines become widely available in a country. The question has always been, why" Some scientists have speculated it?s because kids who get the vaccine likely have access to better healthcare in general, or that the vaccine stimulates immune cells to fight off other diseases.
The new study offers a more profound explanation. Citing research performed on monkeys, the authors hypothesize that, when people get measles, the virus wipes out the immune system?s memory, so the body forgets how to fight other infections. Until now, scientists thought this ?immune amnesia? was temporary, lasting just a few weeks or months. But the Princeton researchers said it seems ...