Rebecca Archer’s daughter Renae died aged 10
The mother of a girl who died from complications linked to contracting measles as an infant has pleaded with parents to do one thing. Rebecca Archer’s daughter Renae, 10, passed away after being diagnosed with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), an extremely rare brain disease.
The condition is a progressive neurological disorder affecting the central nervous system and can be triggered by measles infection. Renae contracted measles at five months old – before she was old enough to receive the vaccination.
The UK lost its measles-free status this week from the World Health Organisation following a spike in cases, including a child’s death, in England during 2024. Rebecca has appealed to parents to immunise their children, believing that higher vaccination rates would have prevented Renae from catching measles as a baby.
She said: “Renae hadn’t had the MMR because she was under 12 months old. If there wasn’t an outbreak and more kids had their vaccinations, then she wouldn’t have got the measles in the first place and it wouldn’t have ultimately ended her life.”
Rebecca added: “It’s like a nightmare, it’s still hard to believe that’s why Renae’s not here anymore – because of having the measles 10 years previously.
“She was poorly for a few days. After that, everything went back to normal – she was fit and healthy.”
The UK was initially declared measles-free in 2017, but the status was lost two years later before being regained when virus transmission was nearly completely stopped in 2021. Late 2023 outbreaks caused measles to spread more rapidly again, resulting in the spike in cases throughout 2024.
By the end of 2024, vaccination rates stood at 92% for the first dose and just under 85% for the second dose. A decade after contracting measles, Renae began experiencing seizures at school, which led to her SSPE diagnosis. The youngster gradually lost her ability to speak or eat, and Rebecca was informed last September that they would need to switch off her life support machine.
Rebecca, from Salford, Greater Manchester, said: “She had one every week and then I think it was the third seizure where they did an MRI. Then that’s when they discovered there was some swelling on her brain.
“Her motor functions started to deteriorate – she just slowly couldn’t speak or eat. When she went into ICU, they didn’t know what was actually causing it.
“It was actually the measles and it was SSPE. And that’s when they told me it was going to be fatal. Then we had to make a decision to turn the machines off.”
Dr Manisha Kumar, chief medical officer for NHS Greater Manchester, hopes Rebecca’s story will ‘encourage’ parents to verify their child’s vaccination status.
She said: “Rebecca’s story is one example of many, that illustrate why we need to urgently reverse the decline in the uptake of childhood vaccinations, in order to protect not only ourselves and our families, but our wider communities. We hope that through brave people like Rebecca coming forward with their personal stories, combined with the multi-media campaign, it will serve as a reminder that these diseases have not gone away.
“It will encourage parents and guardians to check their children’s vaccination status and book appointments if any immunisations have been missed. Two doses of the MMR vaccine are needed to get lifelong protection against measles, mumps and rubella. Simply by ensuring you have both doses, you not only protect yourself and your family against the illness, but also those who you come into contact with who may be vulnerable.”
