Measles Complicated by Destructive Pneumonia in a Patient Under One Year of Age

Measles is an acute, highly contagious viral disease that is transmitted through airborne droplets. In the 2023–2024 season, the incidence of measles was 127 times higher than in the 2022–2023 season. This is a significant social concern, as measles is a quarantine infection.

Case Report. The boy was born from the fifth pregnancy, the fifth birth, with an Apgar score of 7/9, a body weight of 4100 g, and a body length of 55 cm. The child’s obstetric history was uncomplicated. The child grew and developed according to age norms in a family where children were not vaccinated against measles. At the age of 4 and 5 months, the child suffered from acute bronchitis and community-acquired pneumonia. The patient contracted measles after family contact at the age of 5.5 months, with typical symptoms. Two weeks later, the child was admitted to City Clinical Hospital No. 11 in Ryazan with a diagnosis of “Measles, typical form, severe degree, and non-smooth course,” where a complication in the form of secondary destructive pneumonia developed. One month after the onset of measles, numerous bullae were formed in the right lung. The child was on continuous respiratory support using artificial ventilation. After 5.5 months from the onset of the disease, he was transferred to the Russian Children’s Clinical Hospital, a branch of the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University (Moscow), for further treatment with the diagnosis of “bilateral pneumonia, severe course, complicated by destruction on the right side.” He underwent drainage of bullae and thoracoscopic resection of cysts in the upper lobe of the right lung. In the postoperative period, the child returned to the N.V. Dmitrieva Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital (Ryazan) without any positive progress, with the need for constant respiratory support (through a tracheostomy), severe protein-energy deficiency, and multiple organ failure, which ultimately led to the patient’s death at the age of 1.5 years.

Conclusion. Children under one year old are at risk of severe measles due to the lack of adaptive immunity that develops after vaccination.

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