Acute Therapies for Measles During Vaccine Coverage Decline

Measles represents one of the most contagious viral infections, and its reappearance in the context of diminishing vaccination rates has sparked a fresh interest in treatment and preventative measures. Current and new acute therapies were analyzed in this systematic review, along with their relationship to measles virology and clinical outcomes. Despite only being used off-label, ribavirin and interferon-α have been shown in small clinical studies to reduce the severity of the disease and its associated complications.Vitamin A supplementation is the only commonly recommended treatment that has strong evidence of lowering morbidity and mortality, especially in young children who are vitamin A-deficient. Traditional Chinese medications like Tanreqing and Xiyanping have demonstrated symptomatic improvements in clinical trials but need mechanistic validation, while investigational potential treatments like the polymerase inhibitor ERDRP-0519 and monoclonal antibodies against the fusion protein exhibit strong preclinical efficacy. While vaccination is essential as a preventive measure, adjunctive therapies, particularly vitamin A and innovative antiviral techniques, provide valuable tools to enhance outcomes and mitigate complications in under-vaccinated individuals.