Measles
Transmission
Measles is extremely contagious. It lives in the mucus in the nose and throat and only infects humans. It can live in the air once someone has coughed or sneezed for up to two hours. If someone is not immune and have been near an infected person, they have a 90% chance of contracting measles.
Vaccine schedule for children 0-6
2 vaccines between 12-15 months and 4-6 years.
Source: Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
Signs + Symptoms
Symptoms usually show up 1-2 weeks after being infected. Early symptoms include cough, high fever, red, itchy eyes and runny nose.
After these initial symptoms begin, white spots appear inside the mouth, called Koplik spots.
Several days after the Koplik spots appear, a rash appears. Once this rash appears, the infected person's fever may spike. This only lasts a few days and symptoms resolve.
Treatment
There is no specific treatment for measles. When children are experiencing severe cases of measles, they should be treated with vitamin A.
Complications
Common complications include ear infections and diarrhea.
More severe and less common complications include lung infections and brain swelling and death.
Measles can also cause long-term health problems. Most concerning is a rare and fatal disease caused by measles is subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE). If measles is contracted before two years old, the risk of developing SSPE is increased.