The story of a 12-year-old young man — who had never been immunised — who was brought to an Emergency Department by his family after two weeks of decreased appetite, mood swings, problems at school, and the recent development of brief full body shakes and slurred speech. He was diagnosed with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a rare sequelae of infection with the measles virus which may occur years after the primary infection and leads to death usually within 2-3 years. By Clay Bartram, M.D. and paediatrician (22nd March 2006)