From the AI overview of an article from the Mayo Clinic:
Measles can have significant long-term effects on the immune system and, in rare cases, the brain. The virus can cause "immune amnesia," where the immune system forgets how to fight off other infections, leaving individuals vulnerable to complications like ear infections, pneumonia, and even blindness. In some cases, measles can lead to a severe, progressive brain disease called
subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), which can be fatal.
-----------------------
My mother was partially deafened by measles.
And then there's mumps which can make men sterile.
Rubella can cause birth defects if pregnant women catch it. From the AI overview of an article by the Mayo Clinic:
Yes, rubella can cause significant birth defects, especially if a woman contracts the virus during pregnancy, specifically during the first trimester. This condition is known as
congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). The virus can be transmitted from mother to fetus, leading to a range of developmental problems.
------------------------
I knew both a woman and a man (unrelated) who were born without hands.
----------------------
We may not have become a country if Washington hadn't ordered the troops to be inoculated against smallpox:
William Shippen Jr., director of the medical department of the Continental Army, Washington proclaimed: Finding the smallpox to be spreading much and fearing that no precaution can prevent it from running thro' the whole of our Army, I have determined that the Troops shall be inoculated.
----------------------
BTW, I still have the scar from the smallpox inoculation. I didn't get smallpox.
-----------------------
From an AI overview:
No, smallpox has been eradicated globally. The last known case of smallpox occurred in 1977. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared smallpox eradicated in 1980. Since then, there have been no reported cases of smallpox anywhere in the world.
-----------------------
Smallpox was eradicated thanks to vaccinations.