MEASLES

Measles is a highly contagious, viral disease caused by the paramyxovirus family, and is transmitted through direct contact and the air. The virus infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing symptoms ranging from a runny nose, cough, to rashes on the body, to serious complications.

There is no specific medical treatment for measles once infection occurs. Treatment includes providing comfort measures to relieve symptoms, such as rest, and treating or preventing other complications.

WHO IS AT RISK?

Any person that is not vaccinated or vaccinated but did not develop immunity can become infected. More specifically, unvaccinated young children and pregnant persons are at highest risk of severe measles complications. Other people at risk include people who travel internationally, and people with vitamin A deficiency.

HOW IS IT SPREAD?

Measles is one of the world’s most contagious diseases, spread by close or direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions. One person infected by measles can infect 9 out of 10 of their unvaccinated close contacts. The virus can remain active and contagious in the air or infected surface up to two hours, and can be transmitted by an infected person from four days prior to the onset of the rash to four days after the rash erupts.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

Measles symptoms appear 7 to 14 days after exposure after exposure to the virus and occur in stages over 2 to 3 weeks. Signs and symptoms include:

• Fever
• Dry cough
• Runny throat
• Inflamed eyes
• White spots with bluish centers on a red background (Koplik’s spots)
• Skin rash made of flat blotches that often flow into one another

Other serious complications can include diarrhea and vomiting, ear infections, bronchitis, laryngitis, pneumonia, and encephalitis.

WHEN IS THE VACCINE GIVEN?

The measles vaccine is typically given in two doses, with the first dose administered at around 12 to 15 months of age and the second dose given between 4 and 6 years of age before starting elementary school. The vaccine is usually provided as the MMR vaccine, protecting against measles, mumps, and rubella.

HISTORY OF MEASLES

• 1757 – Francis Home, a Scottish physician, demonstrated that measles is caused by an infectious agent in the blood of patients
• 1912 – Measles became a nationally notifiable diseases in the United States
• 1954 – John F. Enders and Dr.Thomas C. Peebles was able to isolate the measles virus from someone’s blood.
• 1958 – First Measles vaccine is tested
• 1961 – Virologist Harry Rubin developed a method to detect a virus that caused leukemia in chickens. His discoveries contributed to the development of the vaccine.
• 1963 – John Enders and colleagues transformed their Edmonston-B strain of measles virus into a vaccine and licensed it in the United States.
• 1968 – An improved and even weaker measles vaccine is developed my Maurice Hilleman and colleagues
• 1971 – The US government licensed the measles, mumps and rubella combination vaccine
• 1978 – CDC set a goal to eliminate measles in the US by 1882
• 1989-1991 – Low vaccination rates lead to outbreaks which infected 55,622 Americans and killed 123. Over 90% of fatalities were unvaccinated individuals
• 2000 – Measles is declared as eliminated from the United States

Sources
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/measles/symptoms-causes/syc-20374857
https://historyofvaccines.org/history/measles/timeline
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles