Measles - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Signs and symptoms Toggle Signs and symptoms subsection 1.1 Complications 1.1.1 Pregnancy 1.1.2 Underlying mechanisms 1.1.3 Immune amnesia 2 Cause 3 Pathophysiology 4 Diagnosis 5 Prevention Toggle Prevention subsection 5.1 Vaccination 5.2 In babies 5.3 Herd immunity 5.4 Post exposure 6 Treatment 7 Prognosis 8 Epidemiology Toggle Epidemiology subsection 8.1 Europe 8.2 Americas 8.2.1 Canada 8.2.2 United States 8.2.3 Brazil 8.3 Southeast Asia 8.4 South Pacific 8.4.1 Samoa 8.5 Africa 8.5.1 Madagascar 8.5.2 Democratic Republic of Congo 9 History Toggle History subsection 9.1 Vaccination 10 Society and culture 11 References 12 External links Toggle the table of contents Measles 130 languages Afrikaans Alemannisch Aragonés العربية مصرى অসমীয়া Asturianu अवधी Aymar aru Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه Башҡортса Беларуская (тарашкевіца) Беларуская Български भोजपुरी Banjar বাংলা བོད་ཡིག Brezhoneg Català کوردی Čeština Kaszëbsczi Чӑвашла Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Thuɔŋjäŋ ދިވެހިބަސް Ελληνικά Emiliàn e rumagnòl Esperanto Español Eesti Euskara فارسی Suomi Français Gaeilge Galego Avañe'ẽ Ghanaian Pidgin Hausa עברית हिन्दी Hrvatski Magyar Հայերեն Արեւմտահայերէն Bahasa Indonesia Igbo Íslenska Italiano 日本語 ქართული Taqbaylit Tyap Қазақша ភាសាខ្មែរ ಕನ್ನಡ 한국어 Къарачай-малкъар کٲشُر Kurdî Кыргызча Latina Lëtzebuergesch Lombard Lingála Lietuvių Latviešu Basa Banyumasan Македонски മലയാളം Монгол Bahasa Melayu မြန်မာဘာသာ नेपाली Li Niha Nederlands Norsk nynorsk Norsk bokmål Chi-Chewa Occitan ଓଡ଼ିଆ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Polski Piemontèis پښتو Português Română Русский Саха тыла Sardu سنڌي Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски සිංහල Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina ChiShona Shqip Српски / srpski SiSwati Sesotho Svenska Kiswahili தமிழ் తెలుగు Тоҷикӣ ไทย Türkmençe Tagalog Setswana Türkçe Татарча / tatarça Twi ئۇيغۇرچە / Uyghurche Українська اردو Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Tiếng Việt Walon Wolof 吴语 ייִדיש Vahcuengh 粵語 中文 Edit links Article Talk English Read View source View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read View source View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Switch to legacy parser Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikinews Wikiquote Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Viral disease affecting humans This article is about the disease. For other uses, see Measles (disambiguation). Not to be confused with either rubella (sometimes called "German measles") or roseola, other viral diseases that cause a rash and fever. <ref name=\"Stanley-2002\">{{cite book|last=Stanley|first=Jacqueline|title=Essentials of Immunology & Serology|year=2002|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-7668-1064-8 | page = 323|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuCT5RVToN4C&pg=PA323|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908140851/https://books.google.com/books?id=nuCT5RVToN4C&pg=PA323|archive-date=8 September 2017}}</ref>"},"symptoms":{"wt":"Fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, rash<ref name=\"Tesini-2023\" /><ref name=\"CDC Symptoms-2014\"/>"},"complications":{"wt":"[[Pneumonia]], [[seizure]]s, [[encephalitis]], [[subacute sclerosing panencephalitis]], [[immunosuppression]], hearing loss, blindness<ref name=\"CDC Pink Book-2024\" /><ref name=\"Rota-2016\"/>"},"onset":{"wt":"10–12 days after exposure<ref name=\"WHO Facts-2024a\"/><ref name=\"Bope-2014\">{{cite book|last1=Bope|first1=Edward T.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hv8fBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT189|title=Conn's Current Therapy 2015|last2=Kellerman|first2=Rick D.|date=2014|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-0-323-31956-0|page=153|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908140851/https://books.google.com/books?id=Hv8fBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT189|archive-date=8 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>"},"duration":{"wt":"7–10 days<ref name=\"WHO Facts-2024a\"/><ref name=\"Bope-2014\"/> (not including complications)"},"causes":{"wt":"[[Measles virus|Measles virus (''Morbillivirus hominis'')]]<ref name=\"Tesini-2023\" />"},"risks":{"wt":""},"diagnosis":{"wt":""},"differential":{"wt":""},"prevention":{"wt":"[[Measles vaccine]]<ref name=\"WHO Facts-2024a\"/>"},"treatment":{"wt":"[[supportive treatment|Supportive care]]<ref name=\"WHO Facts-2024a\"/>"},"medication":{"wt":""},"frequency":{"wt":"10 million per year<ref name=\"Tesini-2023\" />"},"deaths":{"wt":"140,000+ (2018)<ref name=\"More than 140-2019\" /><ref name=\"CDC-Global-2020\">{{cite web| title = Global Measles Outbreaks| work = U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC)| date = 17 August 2020| access-date = 4 September 2020| url = https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/measles/globalmeaslesoutbreaks.htm| archive-date = 7 September 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200907110447/https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/measles/globalmeaslesoutbreaks.htm| url-status = dead}}</ref>"}},"i":0}}]}'>Medical condition Measles Other names Morbilli, rubeola, red measles, English measles[1][2] A child showing a day-four measles rash Specialty Infectious disease Symptoms Fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, rash[3][4] Complications Pneumonia, seizures, encephalitis, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, immunosuppression, hearing loss, blindness[5][6] Usual onset 10–12 days after exposure[7][8] Duration 7–10 days[7][8] (not including complications) Causes Measles virus (Morbillivirus hominis)[3] Prevention Measles vaccine[7] Treatment Supportive care[7] Frequency 10 million per year[3] Deaths 140,000+ (2018)[9][10] Measles (probably from Middle Dutch or Middle High German masel(e), meaning "blemish, blood blister")[11][12] is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by measles virus.[3][5] Other names include morbilli, rubeola, 9-day measles, red measles, and English measles.[1][3] Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days.[7] Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than 40 °C (104 °F), cough, runny nose, and inflamed eyes.[3][4] Small white spots known as Koplik spots may form inside the mouth two or three days after the start of symptoms.[4] A red, flat rash which usually starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body typically begins three to five days after the start of symptoms.[4] Common complications include diarrhea (in 8% of cases), middle ear infection (7%), and pneumonia (6%).[5] These occur in part due to measles-induced immunosuppression.[6] Less commonly, seizures, blindness, or inflammation of the brain may occur.[5][7] Measles is an airborne disease which spreads easily from one person to the next through the coughs and sneezes of infected people.[7] It may also be spread through direct contact with mouth or nasal secretions.[7] It is extremely contagious: nine out of ten people who are not immune and share living space with an infected person will be infected. Furthermore, measles's reproductive number estimates vary beyond the frequently cited range of 12 to 18,[13] with a 2017 review giving a range of 3.7 to 203.3.[14] People are infectious to others from four days before to four days after the start of the rash.[5] While often regarded as a childhood illness, it can affect people of any age.[15] Most people do not get the disease more than once.[7] Testing for the measles virus in suspected cases is important for public health efforts.[5] Measles is not known to occur in other animals.[7] Once a person has become infected, no specific treatment is available, although supportive care may improve outcomes.[7] Such care may include oral rehydration solution (slightly sweet and salty fluids), healthy food, and medications to control the fever.[7][8] Antibiotics should be prescribed if secondary bacterial infections such as ear infections or pneumonia occur.[7] Vitamin A supplementation is also recommended for children under the age of 5.[7] Among cases reported in the U.S. between 1985 and 1992, death occurred in 0.2% of cases,[5] but may be up to 10% in people with malnutrition.[7] Most of those who die from the infection are less than five years old.[7] The measles vaccine is safe and very effective at preventing the disease and is often delivered in combination with other vaccines.[7][16] Due to the ease with which measles is transmitted from person to person in a community, more than 95% of the community must be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity.[17][better source needed] Vaccination resulted in an 80% decrease in deaths from measles between 2000 and 2017, with about 85% of children worldwide having received their first dose as of 2017.[7] Measles affects about 10 million people a year,[3] primarily in the developing areas of Africa and Asia.[7] It is one of the leading vaccine-preventable disease causes of death.[18][19] In 1980, 2.6 million people died from measles,[7] and in 1990, 545,000 died due to the disease; by 2014, global vaccination programs had reduced the number of deaths from measles to 73,000.[20][21] Despite these trends, rates of disease and deaths have increased from 2017 onwards due to a decrease in vaccination.[22][23][24] Video summary (script) Signs and symptoms The initial symptoms of measles are non-specific, resembling a common cold - raised temperature, runny nose, sneezing, cough, and sore eyes (conjunctivitis).[25][26] These symptoms begin 7–23 days (most commonly, 10–14 days) after exposure to an infected person. The fever may reach or exceed 104 °F (40 °C).[26] After a couple more days, little white spots may appear inside the mouth (Koplik spots); they are short lived and may not be noticed. At this stage of infection a characteristic skin rash appears, initially on the face and behind the ears, spreading to the rest of the body.[25][26] Uncomplicated cases of measles typically improve within days of rash onset and resolve within 7–10 days.[6] The virus is contagious from four days before to four days after the rash appears.[27] Because development of the rash and conjunctivitis requires a functional immune system, immunocompromised people may not be diagnosed as readily.[6] Appearance of measles in children with different skin tones A baby with measles Koplik spots Abdominal rash Complications Immediate complications of measles are relatively common, affecting approximately 30% of cases.[27] Common complications are middle ear infections, conjunctivitis, severe diarrhea (leading to dehydration), and breathing problems such as croup and pneumonia.[28][26][7] Complications can be severe, such as encephalitis, deafness, and blindness.[26][27] In the US, the CDC estimates 1 out of every 5 unvaccinated people who get measles will need to be hospitalized;[26] and that between 1 and 3 out of every 1,000 children with the disease will die of its complications.[28] Mortality is worse in places with poor nutrition and poor healthcare - in parts of Africa, the case fatality rate is estimated up to 6% for settled populations, rising as …