With measles cases rising sharply in the United States and several other countries amid falling vaccination rates, researchers are investigating potential antiviral treatments and monoclonal antibodies, as no specific therapy currently exists for the disease.
Measles vaccination, when administered in two doses, prevents approximately 97% of cases, and population coverage above 95% has historically provided sufficient protection to limit viral spread. However, declining uptake, driven partly by unfounded safety concerns and reduced healthcare access, has led to a resurgence. As of 11 June, 2,073 cases had been reported in the United States in 2026, with over 90% occurring in unvaccinated individuals or those with unknown vaccination status, placing the country’s measles elimination status at risk.
Complications associated with measles include pneumonia, blindness, and immune amnesia, in which prior immune memory is erased, increasing susceptibility to other infections. Encephalitis occurs in approximately one in 1,000 infected individuals and can cause permanent neurological damage. Mortality among infected children ranges from one to three per 1,000 cases.
Several research groups are pursuing antiviral candidates. A team at Georgia State University screened more than 100,000 compounds and identified GHP-88310, which reduced viral replication and improved survival in ferrets infected with a related Orthoparamyxovirus, as reported in Science Advances. Separately, researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology characterised four human monoclonal antibodies derived from a vaccinated individual, one of which reduced measles viral load to undetectable levels in infected cotton rats, according to findings published in Cell Host and Microbe.
Both approaches remain in early experimental stages, and no clinical trials for measles treatments are currently underway, partly due to challenges in trial design and ethical considerations regarding unvaccinated participants.
Source: Garcia de Jesús E. Measles has no treatments. Changing that may not be easy. Science News, 11 June 2026.
