Protective Effects of Measles Against Cancer and Heart Disease

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Protective Effects of Measles Against Cancer and Heart Disease

by Jeffrey Dach MD

For the 63 years prior to the introduction of the measles \/a<<ine in 1963, measles mortality declined by 98%. In 1963, just prior to the \/a<<ine, there were about 400 annual deaths from measles in the US. This translates to one in 450,000 Americans died of measles. Aaron Siri says:

Yet, our health department promotes measles as if millions of Americans died before the \/a<<ine…Those who don’t get measles have a statistically significant increase in death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. A large Japanese government study over 20 years showed those who did not contract measles and mumps had a 20 percent increase in death from cardiovascular disease.(1)

If Cardiovascular disease kills 500,000 people per year, 20 percent would be 100,000 people. Two percent would be 10,000 people. And one percent would be 5,000 people. This is still way above the 400 annual deaths from measles. This inverts the public health benefit of a measles/mumps \/a<<ine.

Aaron Siri goes on to say:

In those who have had measles, this reduces Hodgkins lymphoma by 66 percent and reduces Non-Hodgkins lymphoma by 166 percent. This about 20,000 mostly kids per year. If you have had measles, you have half the rate of ovarian cancer. The studies are all in the medical literature and they are all pretty consistent, showing the same thing. From a public health perspective, did we have a net benefit [from introduction of the measles/mumps \/a<<ine ? No, we did not.] (2-7)

Here is the 3 minute video clip of Aaron Siri:

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Conclusion: Aaron Siri makes the case that the health benefits of wild type measles, specifically in reducing cardiovascular mortality and cancer mortality, far exceeds any possible health benefit of the measles \/a<<ine. The health benefits of contracting wild type measles are all documented in studies published in the medical literature (see references below).

Header Image: Cover of book by Aaron Siri courtesy of Elizabeth Meyer HeartStringBirthServices on Instagram.  Link to Photo on Instagram.

Articles with related interest:

Measles Outbreaks, Fake News and Mass Hysteria

Which is Greater threat Measles or Measles Vaccine?

Financial Kickbacks to Pediatricians is Illegal and Harms Children

Jeffrey Dach MD
7450 Griffin Road Suite 190
Davie, Florida 33314
954-792-4663

References

1) Japanese Cohort Study (2015) on Measles/Mumps and Cardiovascular Disease

This is the 22-year follow-up study from the Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) Study, involving a large sample of Japanese adults (approximately 100,000+ participants, though exact numbers in analyses vary by subgroup; often cited around 110,000 in discussions). It linked history of measles (and mumps) infections to lower mortality risks from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), including reductions in total CVD (e.g., ~11-20% lower in combined infections), myocardial infarction (heart attack; up to ~29% lower in some subgroups), and stroke (e.g., ~16-21% lower in certain comparisons).

Kubota Y, Iso H, Tamakoshi A; JACC Study Group. Association of measles and mumps with cardiovascular disease: The Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) study. Atherosclerosis. 2015 Aug;241(2):682-6.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0021915015013805

https://www.atherosclerosis-journal.com/article/S0021-9150(15)01380-5/pdf (open access via journal site in some views)

Key reported findings include hazard ratios (HR) such as 0.71 (29% reduction) for myocardial infarction in men with both infections, and overall lower atherosclerotic CVD mortality with combined measles/mumps history.

2) UK Pre-Vaccination Cohort Study (2013) on Childhood Measles and Adult Cancer Mortality

This prospective cohort used data from the Newcastle Thousand Families Study (participants born in 1947 in a pre-vaccination era for measles in the UK). It examined associations between childhood infectious diseases and premature cancer death in adulthood (ages 15-60 years), finding childhood measles history linked to reduced overall cancer mortality risk (adjusted HR 0.39, indicating ~61% lower risk in some models).

Full Citation: Tennant PWG, et al. Childhood infectious disease and premature death from cancer: a prospective cohort study. European Journal of Epidemiology. 2013 Mar;28(3):257-65.

Note: This study focused on overall cancer mortality reduction with measles and influenza history (while pertussis was associated with increased risk). It does not specifically address Hodgkin’s lymphoma (where UK studies around 2000 showed mixed/no protective effects or potential viral presence in tumors, as noted in the original summary).

These are the primary peer-reviewed sources matching the descriptions. The mortality drop claims (e.g., 98% from 1900-1963 due to sanitation/nutrition) are commonly cited in discussions (including by Aaron Siri) based on historical U.S. vital statistics data, but they are not from a single specific “study” in the referenced context—rather, they draw from public health records and graphs showing pre-vaccine declines in measles deaths (largely attributed to better supportive care, nutrition, and hygiene reducing complications like secondary infections).

3) Siri, A. (2025). Vaccines, Amen: The Religion of Vaccines. Injecting Freedom LLC. ISBN 979-8992423006 (paperback, 301 pages).

This is Aaron Siri’s own 2025 book (released September 4, 2025), in which he explicitly lays out the published studies showing that natural measles infection in childhood is statistically associated with lower rates of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, ovarian cancer, and overall cancer mortality later in life, as well as lower cardiovascular mortality. In public appearances and interviews (including the above video clip), Siri directly references these findings from the book and states that he “lays it out in my book.”

The specific lymphoma claims he discusses in the book (and in the related video/podcast clips) draw from peer-reviewed epidemiological studies such as:

The 2013 prospective cohort study (Newcastle Thousand Families Study, UK/European data) linking childhood measles infection to reduced adult cancer mortality.

Earlier case-control and cohort data (including UK-based analyses around 2000 and related European findings) showing elevated lymphoma risks in those without natural measles infection.

4) Alexander FE, Jarrett RF, Lawrence D, et al. Risk of Hodgkin’s disease associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) and with prior EBV and CMV infection. British Journal of Cancer. 2000;82(5):1119-1123.

This UK population-based case-control study (part of broader analyses around that era) found associations consistent with a protective effect from measles infection in school-age children against Hodgkin’s disease (now called Hodgkin lymphoma).

“The present data cannot distinguish between measles and total infections but are consistent with a specific protective effect of measles in school age children.”

This implies higher relative risk in those without measles history.

5) Montella M, Crispo A, Grimaldi M, et al. Do childhood diseases affect NHL and HL risk? A case-control study from northern and southern Italy.Leukemia Research. 2006;30(8):917-922.

This Italian case-control study (225 NHL cases, 62 HL cases, 504 controls) found all examined childhood diseases negatively associated with HL, and measles negatively associated with NHL (particularly follicular B-cell NHL). It supports a potential protective effect from measles against NHL and provides evidence that common childhood infections (including measles) may lower HL risk in adulthood.

6) Parodi S, Seniori Costantini A, et al. Childhood infectious diseases and risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma according to the WHO classification: A reanalysis of the Italian multicenter case-control study. International Journal of Cancer. 2020;146(4):977-986.
Inverse associations were observed for several infections (including trends with number of infections) in B-cell NHL subtypes, aligning with prior European data suggesting protective roles from childhood infections like measles.

7) Tennant PWG, Pearce MS, Bythell M, Rankin J. Childhood infectious disease and premature death from non-communicable diseases in northern England: a retrospective cohort study. European Journal of Epidemiology. 2013;28(5):415-426.

From the Newcastle Thousand Families Study (UK prospective cohort, pre-vaccination era), childhood measles was independently associated with reduced cancer mortality risk in adulthood (adjusted HR = 0.39, 95% CI 0.17-0.88). While not lymphoma-specific, it is frequently cited in discussions of measles’ potential inverse link to later cancers (including lymphomas).

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