Highly contagious disease with a 90% transmission rate.
Spread via airborne transmission, meaning that small droplets of the virus are spread in the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or speaks. The virus can survive in the air or on surfaces for two hours after exposure.
Symptoms include high fever (≥ 101° F, ≥ 100.4° F for infants younger than three months), cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes, tiny white spots in the mouth (Koplik spots), and a rash occurring in red spots on the face at the hairline that eventually spread down to the neck, belly, arms, legs, and feet.
Timely identification and management are crucial to prevent outbreaks and protect public health.
Disease Process
First symptoms appear seven to 12 days after exposure to the virus. Initial symptoms may last three to five days. A few days later, a rash begins around the ears and hairline, spreading to face, torso, and arms, and lasting five to six days. Measles is most contagious four days before and four days after presentation of the rash.
Complications
This disease weakens the immune system for up to six weeks or even years post-illness.
Increases in risk for bacterial infection or infection from other diseases, pneumonia, encephalitis (i.e., brain swelling, which can cause cognitive disability, deafness, and seizures), pregnancy complications (e.g., premature labor, miscarriage, and low birth weight), seizures, and even death.
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