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A pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who was trained in India quickly recognized the early signs of a devastating long-term complication of measles called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, which is more common in countries where the virus remains endemic. The fatal condition can cause memory loss, irritability, disturbances in movement, seizures and blindness, and can develop six to eight years after a child has apparently recovered from measles. Although anti-seizure drugs can sometimes ease symptoms, they don’t cure the disease. Recent research shows the complication is more common than previously believed, striking about 1 in 600 infants with measles.