SSPE and Measles Infection Before Age 2
Approximately 50% of children with SSPE had measles infection before the age of 2 years. 1
Key Epidemiological Data
The evidence clearly demonstrates that early measles infection is a critical risk factor for developing SSPE:
Half of all SSPE cases experienced natural measles infection before age 2 years, establishing this as a particularly vulnerable period for the development of this devastating complication 1
Among confirmed SSPE cases with documented measles history, 71% had measles-like illness prior to 15 months of age, with all 12 cases in one California cohort having measles before this age 2
The highest risk for SSPE development occurs in children who contracted measles when they were less than 5 years of age, with infants under 12 months facing particularly elevated risk 3, 2
Clinical Context and Risk Quantification
The actual incidence data underscores the severity of infant measles infection:
Among California measles cases from 1988-1991, the incidence of SSPE was 1:609 for children under 12 months at the time of measles disease, compared to 1:1367 for all children under 5 years 2
In documented case series, specific examples include patients who had measles at 3,8, and 30 months of age, with subsequent SSPE development occurring 15,6, and 4.5 years later, respectively 4
Important Clinical Implications
The only effective prevention strategy is measles vaccination, which has led to near elimination of SSPE cases in countries with high vaccination coverage 5, 6