Measles

As we all might think, Measles is not something new to us. Most of us might be unaffected by its existence.

I am sure most of the young physicians in the US reading about an outbreak of measles (Rubeola) never witnessed a case of it during their training. I wonder if their professors had ever seen a single case of typical red rubeola for decades. Now is the time for them to run their eyes over this topic in ‘Harrison’s Text book of Internal Medicine’ once again. El Paso County recently witnessed a case of red measles and it astounded a lot of public health officials though it is not a big deal for many gray haired physicians. Though not completely eradicated in the US, gray haired physicians still see a case or two of red measles every now and then. Now the fear is about the complications that measles might cause. In fact, about one in 1,000 Americans diagnosed with rubeola die, may be another two suffer permanent damage from encephalitis (an infection of the lining around the brain). Majority end up with pneumonia, this can seriously increase the death toll if untreated early.

Measles is extremely contagious as it can spread four days before the typical rash appears and can continue to spread for four more days after the rash. Therefore, one may not know that they suffer from measles by the time they start spreading it to others.

It typically starts with:

• Cold like symptoms after 10 days of exposure
• High fever
• Pink and irritated eyes
• Red rashes on the face which spread all over body

Within four days most gets normal and few end up with complications as mentioned before. Rest, fluids and stay indoors, at home, are fairly enough to get over the outbreak.

Most of the adults have had one shot of measles vaccination as a child and only few have had two shots of it. One shot is 95% effective and two shots make it 99%. Vaccinations before 1970 were not very effective. Pregnant mothers might pass on the antibodies to their children but it would not last more than a year. Therefore, the child should get vaccinated before he/she completes one year. Remember that the outbreak of measles in adults over 18 years is very severe than in kids and is highly likely to end up causing complications.

Remain fearless about measles as long as you wash your hands regularly. Avoid crowds, eat healthy and exercise regularly.