As measles virus causes subacute sclerosing panencephalitis and measles inclusion body
encephalitis due to its ability to establish human persistent infection, without symptoms for
the time between the acute infection and the onset of clinical symptoms, it has been the
paradigm for a long term persistent as opposed to chronic infection by an RNA virus. We
have reviewed the mechanisms of persistence of the virus and discuss specific mutations
associated with CNS infection affecting the matrix and fusion protein genes. These are …