Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness .

It can lead to serious, sometimes lifelong complications, including pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and even death.

Measles is caused by a virus that lives in the mucus of an infected person's nose and throat and is spread easily through breathing, coughing and sneezing. 

When a person with measles coughs, sneezes, or talks, infected droplets are released into the air (where others can inhale them) or land on a surface where they remain active and spread. spread for several hours. If other people breathe in contaminated air or touch an infected surface and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth, they can become infected. 

Measles is so contagious that if one person gets it, up to 90% of those close to that person who are not immune will also become infected. 

An infected person can spread measles to others from four days before to four days after the rash appears.

Measles can be serious!

• About 1 in 5 people who get measles will be hospitalized

• 1 out of every 1,000 people with measles will develop brain swelling, which could lead to brain damage

• As many as 1 in 20 children with measles gets pneumonia

• 1 to 3 out of 1,000 people with measles will die, even with the best care

Symptoms Of Measles

Symptoms include rash, cough, runny nose, itchy eyes, and fever. Children with measles often feel uncomfortable and may miss school, lose their appetite, have diarrhea, and be sensitive to light.

The rash usually appears about 14 days after a person is exposed. The rash spreads from the head to the trunk to the lower extremities. Patients with weakened immune systems do not always develop a rash.

Prevention Of Measles

You get two doses of the MMR vaccine. Children usually get the first dose when they are 12 months old, and a second before kindergarten. However, if the child is under 12 months old and is traveling to an area where measles is common, a first dose may be given at 9 months of age and a second at 12 months.  

Do adults need the MMR vaccine?

If you got two doses as a child, you're covered for life. You don't need a booster shot.

If you weren't vaccinated, you may need it. "Generally, anyone 18 years of age or older who was born after 1956 should get at least one dose of MMR vaccine, unless they can show that they have either been vaccinated or had all three diseases [measles, mumps, and rubella]," 

Pregnant women shouldn't get vaccinated until after they've had their baby. People who are allergic to the vaccine's ingredients shouldn't get it, either.

If you think you’ve been exposed to measles and haven't been vaccinated, can you still get the vaccine?

Yes, but you have to get it within 72 hours of exposure to be effective.

Treatment For Measles

There are no specific antiviral drugs to treat measles. The goal of medical care is to relieve symptoms and treat complications such as bacterial infections. 

Severe cases of measles in children, including those requiring hospitalization, can be treated with vitamin A.

However, some measures can be taken to protect individuals who don't have immunity to measles after they've been exposed to the virus.

• Post-exposure vaccination. People without immunity to measles, including infants, may be given the measles vaccine within 72 hours of exposure to the measles virus to provide protection against it. If measles still develops, it usually has milder symptoms and lasts for a shorter time.

• Immune serum globulin. Pregnant women, infants and people with weakened immune systems who are exposed to the virus may receive an injection of proteins (antibodies) called immune serum globulin. When given within six days of exposure to the virus, these antibodies can prevent measles or make symptoms less severe.

Medications

Treatment for a measles infection may include:

• Fever reducers. If a fever is making you or your child uncomfortable, you can use over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, Children's Motrin, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve) to help bring down the fever that accompanies measles. Read the labels carefully or ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about the appropriate dose. Use caution when giving aspirin to children or teenagers. Though aspirin is approved for use in children older than age 3, children and teenagers recovering from chickenpox or flu-like symptoms should never take aspirin. This is because aspirin has been linked to Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, in such children.

• Antibiotics. If a bacterial infection, such as pneumonia or an ear infection, develops while you or your child has measles, your health care provider may prescribe an antibiotic.

• Vitamin A. Children with low levels of vitamin A are more likely to have a more severe case of measles. Giving a child vitamin A may lessen the severity of measles infection. It's generally given as a large dose of 200,000 international units (IU) for children older than a year. Smaller doses may be given to younger children.