[Measles and temporary increase in masculine births: coincidence or causality?]

Data from three West-African populations shows significant increase of sex-ratio. In two of them a considerable excess of male births came from conceptions the year following an epidemic of measles. This is limited to the villages affected by this epidemic. These facts seem to be similar to those related to hepatitis and sex-ratio. They suggest similarities between measles virus and surface antigens of Y sperms. This hypothesis could be tested by immunological investigation.