Understanding Measles

So as you may have noticed, there has been a lot of recent buzz about measles lately. If you are out of the loop, check out this video for a review of the current outbreak, which is thought to have originated in Disneyland.

 

My goal for this blog is to help give you, as readers, a bit more knowledge about the disease so that you can be educated consumers of the media and of healthcare.

Let’s first start off by talking about what the virus really is. Well, to make things even more         confusing, measles is also called rubeola. From here on out, I’ll call it measles, but it’s important to know that the two are the same. So now that we have that straight, let's talk about the virus.         Measles is a highly contagious virus that affects mainly children but can also pose significant           threat to certain high- risk groups such as pregnant women, individuals with vitamin A           deficiency, poor nutritional status or  compromised immune systems. Measles causes a red and blotchy skin rash that starts on the face and spreads across the body. Other signs and symptoms include high fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat, white spots in the mouth and red/ inflamed eyes. Measles exists in the nose and throat mucus of those infected and can be spread by coughing or sneezing. It is very contagious. A person who has the measles can contract the virus and spread it before even developing symptoms and it is so contagious that 9 in 10 unvaccinated people exposed to an infected person will contract the virus as well.

It may not sound like such a big deal- a skin rash and a runny nose? But let me tell you, it is. Measles can lead to some very serious complications, including brain damage, blindness and even death and this especially true in children less than 5 years old.

The good news: There is a vaccination. The MMR (measles mumps and rubella) vaccine is 

readily available in the US. It is very safe and effective.

The bad news: Some people have chosen not to get the vaccine and this had lead to a series of outbreaks. The US is currently experienced a multi-state outbreak with 644 reported cases in 2014 and 178 reported cases just since January of this year. This may not seem like a lot but it is very significant given that the virus was considered eliminated in the year 2000.

Watch this video for a crash course in the measles- everything you need to know in 90 seconds!

The big take home here is that measles can be prevented. That means deaths can be prevented. So please, get vaccinated!! More on vaccines and the history and progression of the disease still to come!

References: 

Measles (Rubeola) (2015). CDC. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/index.html

Patient information: Measles- The Basics (2015). Retrieved from http://www-uptodate-com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/contents/measles-the-basics?source=see_link

Measles (2015). The Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/measles/basics/definition/con-20019675