Introduction: Neurological disorders secondary to the measles component of viral triple vaccine are not frequent. In spite of controversy regarding the cause, the clinical, diagnostic and legal implications are worth considering.
Clinical case: We present the case of a 16 month-old baby with a clinical picture of self-limiting acute encephalopathy characterized by cerebellar ataxia and alterations in behavior, accompanied by the clinical signs of attenuated measles. The negative results of complementary tests and an obvious time-relationship with a triple virus vaccination lead us to interpret the condition as being secondary to the measles component of the vaccine.
Conclusions: We consider that although there is a low incidence of complications, the index of suspicion is also low, and even lower in cases with only minor neurological signs. It is therefore possible that such reactions are under-reported.