Measles

also called rubeola, is a highly contagious respiratory infection that's caused by a virus. It causes a total-body skin rash and flu-like symptoms, including a fever, cough, and runny nose.

Signs and Symptoms

While measles is probably best known for its full-body rash, the first symptoms of the infection are usually a hacking cough, runny nose, high fever, and red eyes. Children who get the disease also may have Koplik's spots, small red spots with blue-white centers that appear inside the mouth.

The measles rash breaks out 3-5 days after symptoms start, and can coincide with high fevers up to 104°F (40°C). The red or reddish-brown rash usually first shows up as flat red spots on the forehead. It spreads to the rest of the face, then down the neck and torso to the arms, legs, and feet. The fever and rash gradually go away after a few days

Causes & Mode of Transmission

The cause of measles is a virus that replicates in the nose and throat of an infected child or adult.

When someone with measles coughs, sneezes or talks, infected droplets spray into the air, where other people can inhale them. The infected droplets may also land on a surface, where they remain active and contagious for several hours.

You can contract the virus by putting your fingers in your mouth or nose or rubbing your eyes after touching the infected surface.

Treatment

There is no specific medical treatment for measles. To help manage symptoms, which usually last for about 2 weeks, give your child plenty of fluids and encourage extra rest. If a fever is making your child uncomfortable, you can give a non-aspirin fever medicine, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

Remember, you should never give aspirin to a child who has a viral illness, as its use in such cases has been associated with the development of Reye syndrome.

Kids with measles should have their condition closely monitored by a doctor. In some cases, measles can lead to other complications, such as otitis media, croup, diarrhea, pneumonia, and encephalitis, which may require antibiotics or hospitalization.

In developing countries, vitamin A has been found to decrease complications and death associated with measles infections. In the U.S., vitamin A supplementation should be considered for children between 6 months and 2 years old who are hospitalized with measles and its complications.

Also, all kids over 6 months old with certain risk factors — such as vitamin A deficiency, a weakened immune system, or malnutrition — might benefit from vitamin A supplementation.

Children with measles should be quarantined for 4 days after their rash appears. If they have a weakened immune system, they should stay in isolation until they make a full recovery and all symptoms are gone.

Prevention

The most important thing you can do to protect your kids from measles is to have them vaccinated according to the immunization schedule prescribed by your doctor.

Older kids are usually immunized against measles according to state and school health regulations. For most, measles protection is part of the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine (MMR) or measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine (MMRV) given when they're 12 to 15 months old and again when they're 4 to 6 years old.

Infants are generally protected from measles for 6 months after birth due to immunity passed on by their mothers. Measles vaccine usually is not given to infants younger than 12 months old. But if there's a measles outbreak, or a child will be traveling outside the United States, the vaccine may be given when a child is 6-11 months old, followed by the usual MMR immunization at 12-15 months and 4-6 years of age.

The measles vaccine sometimes causes side effects in kids who don't have underlying health problems. The most common reactions are fever 6-12 days after vaccination (in about 15% of kids vaccinated) and a measles-like rash, which isn't contagious and fades on its own (in about 5% of vaccinated kids).

As with all immunization schedules, there are important exceptions and special circumstances. Your doctor will have the most current information about vaccine recommendations.

The measles vaccine should not be given to these at-risk groups:

pregnant women
kids with untreated tuberculosis, leukemia, or other cancers
people whose immune systems are weakened for any reason
kids who have a history of severe allergic reaction to gelatin or to the antibiotic neomycin, as they could have serious reactions to the vaccine

Because certain people cannot receive the measles vaccine for health reasons, it's all the more important to make sure that children who can get the vaccine get it on schedule. At-risk children depend on "herd immunity." This means a high percentage of people have been immunized against a disease, which prevents the disease from spreading in a population and helps prevent outbreaks.