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The measles vaccine was first licensed in 1963-a product of pioneering research by John Enders and Samuel Katz. 1 This was 1 year too late for Olivia Dahl, the then 7-year-old daughter of Roald Dahl, famed author of children's books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When word of an outbreak at school arrived to the Dahl home, both parents were concerned primarily for their young son who had suffered from neurological deficits following an accident and phoned Roald's brother-in-law, Ashley Miles, then the director of the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, for help. He provided only enough gamma globulin-then thought to be a preventive agent for measles 2 -for their son, jovially stating, 'Let the girls get measles, it will be good for them'. 3 Within 3 days, Olivia was covered in the all-too-familiar spots. Soon she had terrible headache. Roald tried to keep her occupied, asking her to make a monkey out of coloured pipe cleaners; he noticed that her fingers were fumbling and imprecise. Within a couple of hours, Olivia was convulsing. With alarming clarity and clinical detail, Dahl penned the following in a notebook that was discovered 28 years following his death: Awful drive. Lorries kept holding us up on narrow roads. Got to hospital. Ambulance went to wrong entrance. Backed out. Arrived. Young doctor in charge. Mervyn and he gave her 3 mg sodium amatol. I sat in hall. Smoked. Felt frozen... Olivia lying quietly. Still unconscious. She has an even chance, doctor said. They had tapped her spine. Not meningitis. It's encephalitis...Still unconscious. I went in. I said, "Olivia... Olivia." She raised her head slightly off pillow. Sister said don't. I went out. We drank whiskey. I told doctor to consult experts. Call anyone...Two doctors advanced on me from waiting room. How is she? I'm afraid it's too late. I went into her room. Sheet was over her. Doctor said to nurse go out. Leave him alone. I kissed her. She was warm. I went out. "She is warm." I said to doctors in hall, "Why is she so warm?" "Of course," he said. I left. 4
Stories like the above can be undeniably powerful because they remind the readers of the destructive power of a disease that...