The Deadly Gene

A five-year old Chicago girl becomes desperately ill. Her doctors believe she has measles encephalitis, and that she will recover, but a consultant recognizes signs of a fatal brain condition on her MRI films. The complicating factors are that the condition has never been seen in a person younger than eighteen, and there is no cure for the universally fatal disease. Furthermore, although the condition occurs in England, it has never been seen in the United States. Should the parents be told the truth, and worry the balance of their lives that they will eventually die as their daughter will?