Monday, Feb. 23, 2015 | 2 a.m.
What is measles?
Measles, also called rubeola, is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by a virus. Before vaccines were developed, it was a common childhood disease.
What are the symptoms?
Initial symptoms include fever, runny nose, cough and red eyes, which typically last two to three days. The fever can reach a high of 105 degrees. The virus’ signature red rash doesn’t typically appear until 14 to 17 days after exposure. The flat red spots tend to start at the hairline, then move to the face and neck, then limbs. Small raised bumps may appear on top of the red spots. The rash can last five to six days. Measles’ incubation period, during which there are no symptoms, can last 10 to 14 days.
What are complications of the virus?
Measles tends to be more serious for children younger than 5 and adults older than 20.
About 3 in 10 people diagnosed with measles will come down with ear infections and/or diarrhea. Ear infections can result in permanent hearing loss.
More severe complications include pneumonia and encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain. One in 20 children with measles will get pneumonia, and about 1 in 1,000 will develop swelling of the brain, which can cause convulsions, deafness and/or mental retardation.
One or two of every 1,000 children diagnosed with measles will die.
An even rarer complication is subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a fatal disease of the central nervous system that develops seven to 10 years after a person has measles. The disease, a progressive type of encephalitis, has no cure but is rarely reported in the United States.
Why is measles so contagious?
Measles can be spread as many as four days before a rash appears and up to five days afterward. It is spread through coughing and sneezing. The virus can live for up to two hours in the air or on a surface.
How we stack up
The United States has lower measles vaccination rates than many South and Central American countries as well as most eastern European countries
How can you avoid catching measles?
Getting vaccinated is the best protection against measles.
The CDC recommends children get two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. The first dose should be administered when the child is 12 to 15 months old, the second dose between age 4 and 6.
Adults who aren’t vaccinated or never had measles as a child should get at least one dose of the MMR vaccine.
Two doses of the MMR vaccine are about 97 percent effective protecting against the virus.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy