Chapter 1
A Case Study: An Encounter
with Measles
Jan and Rob O’Connor lived in Davenport, Iowa, when their first child, Fern,
was born. Fern received her first vaccine, hepatitis B, before she left the hospi-
tal. As a new parent, Jan did not question this. She and her brothers had all
been vaccinated. Getting shots was just part of childhood.
Fern received all the vaccinations on the schedule recommended by the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), although, as the months passed, it
did seem as if she was getting a lot more shots than Jan remembered from
her own childhood. The DTaP shots for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis
made Fern fussy and irritable for a few days, and she got a warm, red spot at
the injection site on her leg. These were minor inconveniences that cleared
up in a day or two. At 15 months, Fern received the combined shot for mea-
sles, mumps, and rubella (MMR). Six days later, she cried for hours and had
a fever of 104°F (40°C).
Rob was holding the fussing baby when her eyes rolled back in her head.
Her body stiffened, and then she began twitching. Rob and Jan were terrified.
Convinced that their baby was dying, they rushed Fern to the emergency
room. By the time they got there, Fern appeared normal but exhausted.
The emergency room doctor said she probably had experienced a febrile seiz-
ure brought on by her high fever. After taking steps to bring Fern’s tempera-
ture down, the doctor discharged her with instructions to see her pediatrician
about follow-up tests.
The next day Fern’s fever was lower and she seemed normal. Her pediatri-
cian reassured the O’Connors that although febrile seizures were frightening,
