What is measles?
Measles is a childhood infection caused by a virus.
Once quite common, measles can now almost always be prevented with a vaccine.
Also called rubeola, measles can be serious and even fatal for small children.
Death rates have been falling worldwide as more children receive the measles vaccine.
Symptoms
Measles signs and symptoms appear around 10 to 14 days after exposure to the virus.
Signs and symptoms of measles typically include:
- Fever
- Dry cough
- Runny nose
- Sore throat
- Inflamed eyes (conjunctivitis)
- Tiny white spots with bluish-white centers on a red background found inside the mouth on the inner lining of the cheek — also called Koplik's spots
- A skin rash made up of large, flat blotches that often flow into one another
Infection and incubation.
For the first 10 to 14 days after you're infected, the measles virus incubates. You have no signs or symptoms of measles during this time.
Nonspecific signs and symptoms.
Measles typically begins with a mild to moderate fever, often accompanied by a persistent cough, runny nose, inflamed eyes (conjunctivitis) and sore throat. This relatively mild illness may last two or three days.
Acute illness and rash.
The rash consists of small red spots, some of which are slightly raised.
The face breaks out first. Over the next few days, the rash spreads down the arms and trunk, then over the thighs, lower legs and feet. At the same time, the fever rises sharply, often as high as 40 to 41 C.
The measles rash gradually recedes, fading first from the face and last from the thighs and feet.
Communicable period.
A person with measles can spread the virus to others for about eight days, starting four days before the rash appears and ending when the rash has been present for four days.
Causes
Measles is a highly contagious illness.
Virus that replicates in the nose and throat of an infected child or adult. Then, 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.
Source:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/measles/symptoms-causes/syc-20374857
