Measles Vaccine and Fever Seizures

     In 1998, Andrew Wakefield reported in the English journal Lancet that he thought measles vaccine was a cause of autism. This was rapidly spread throughout the world and has been repeated in many forms since. We know now that the report was false and was generated by Wakefield’s ties to a suit against the vaccine manufacturer. It has been described as “the most damaging medical hoax of the last 100 years”.

     Although measles vaccine has absolutely no connection to autism, it does have side effects parents need to be aware of. One of those side effects is a fever (febrile) seizure.

     Because measles vaccine is a live vaccine, it can give a child a mild case of measles that can be associated with a few days of fever. Fever in a child in the 12 to 15 month age group (when measles vaccine is given) can cause a fever seizure in a small percentage of children. These fever seizures are frightening but not dangerous (see “Fever Seizures” Jan 2013).

     A study in the journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics published in October 2013 examined how delaying the measles vaccine affects fever seizure. Parents sometimes choose to give their children vaccines on an alternative schedule (see “Alternative Vaccine Schedules” Jan 2013) to “wait until the child gets older”. Statistically, many parents “hold off” on the measles vaccine until the child is up to 19 months of age.

      Information for the AMA study on fever seizures was collected from 9 million records of members of HMO’s and reports to the CDC in Atlanta. 840,348 infants were included in the study. The results of the study clearly showed that delaying the measles vaccine until the child was 16 to 23 months of age was associated with a greater risk of having a fever seizure 7 to 10 days after the immunization. Although the cause for this is unknown, it was postulated that the child’s immune system mounts a stronger response when the child is older and this stronger response may cause more fever seizures.

     Some people who advocate against all vaccines say that the fever seizures that can result from the measles vaccine are a reason not to get the vaccine at all. But not vaccinating exposes the child to the risk of acquiring real measles that can often infect the brain and cause not only fever seizures but also permanent brain damage. As with all vaccines, there is always a slight risk of complications from the vaccine, but the risk is much less than the risk of complications that can occur if the child gets the actual disease.

     The best age to give a vaccine is a subject that has been studied by many researchers over a long period of time. The October study reinforces the fact that there is a “best age” for a vaccine and advises that parents adhere to the recommended schedule and give measles vaccine in the 12 to 15 month of age time period.