My son caught world's most infectious disease and could suffer permanent damage... my warning to all parents

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

A mother who lives in the epicenter of the Texas measles outbreak has revealed how her son's infection left her fearing he could suffer permanent brain damage.
Alex, from Lubbock, near Gaines County, revealed her baby erupted in the hallmark red and splotchy measles rash and developed a dangerously high fever after he was exposed at daycare to the virus — the most infectious in the world.
At eight months old, he was too young to have received the measles vaccine — which is normally administered for the first time at 12 months old — but there is a high proportion of unvaccinated people in the area, which is experiencing a record-high case count.
Earlier this month, the US officially reported 1,000 measles cases in 2025 — marking only the second time case counts have crossed this threshold since the disease was declared eradicated in 2000.
And officials are warning if the disease continues to spread unabated, the US could lose its measles elimination status.
Alex said her son was exposed to measles on April 3, after another parent sent their child to daycare despite having another child at home who was infected with the virus.
She said: 'If you're not going to vaccinate, at the very least, don't send your sick kids to daycare. My baby now has measles.'
She was alerted to the infection by the daycare, and immediately isolated her baby — thinking for the first few days that they were in the clear.
Then, on April 10, the little boy developed a mild fever, became sluggish and had congestion and a cough.
After she took him to see a doctor on April 13, she was told they could see small, white spots on the inside of his cheeks — a sign of a measles infection.
The next day an angry, red rash erupted, which spread down from his hairline to his face before eventually overtaking his whole body.
The worried mother-of-two posted videos of her son's rash online, where her baby appeared tearful, listless and completely covered in the rash.
Alex was extremely concerned her son's infection could turn fatal or leave him with lasting side effects.
She said on her TikTok: 'Apart from brain swelling, I'm mostly concerned about secondary pneumonia.'
Measles can cause brain inflammation, also known as encephalitis. It is a serious side effect of the virus and can cause permanent brain damage.
The CDC reports it occurs in about one in 1,000 cases.
Additionally, pneumonia can lead to septic shock, respiratory failure and even kidney and lung damage.
Measles is the most infectious disease in the world, with an infected person able to pass the disease to nine out of 10 people exposed who are unvaccinated.
It is particularly dangerous to young children, with the CDC saying one in 20 unvaccinated children who are infected develop pneumonia while one in 1,000 suffer from encephalitis — swelling of the brain that can cause permanent damage.
One to three in every 1,000 unvaccinated children who are infected die from the disease.
Many people commenting on Alex's videos were quick to say the disease did not appear to be a mild illness, with some even saying it motivated them to get their children vaccinated.
One wrote: 'My mother told me measles wasn't that bad when I told her I won't travel with my baby because of the outbreak. I sent her this and she changed her mind. My heart hurts for your baby.'
A second said: 'I'm so sorry your little angel is going through this. My son got his six months shots today, and I elected to get the MMR early because of your video.'
Texas is in the grips of America's biggest measles outbreak in two decades — mostly among young children.
Two young and unvaccinated girls, ages six and eight, have died as a result of the outbreak.
After two days of the rash, Alex posted it was beginning to calm down — saying she felt they were now over the worst of the virus.
Her son was not hospitalized for the disease, but was treated at home to help reduce the symptoms.
In another video, she detailed what she gave to her son to help with the infection.
She gave him Tylenol and Motrin for the fever and budesonide, a prescription drug used to reduce inflammation.
He also received antibiotics to head-off any secondary infections, because measles weakens the immune system — raising the risk of other illnesses.
The mother only let her baby sleep lying down on her chest throughout the illness, and kept using cool baths and washcloths to try to lower his temperature.
She also gave him the probiotic Ther-Biotic Baby for his gut, and cod liver oil - an unproven remedy touted by Robert F Kennedy Jr - to boost his levels of Vitamin A and D.
Her baby had mostly recovered by April 17, with his rash having disappeared. Alex showed him crawling and smiling again.
The mother said she posted her son's illness online to warn others over measles, with doctors being quick to comment saying this was the first modern case recorded publicly that they had seen.
Alex has another child who has been vaccinated against measles, and she said she was not pro- or anti-vaccine, but felt it was important for everyone to work together to stop the disease from spreading.