Measles

1. What is measles?

　Measles is an acute systemic infection caused by the measles virus. In addition to air (droplet nuclei) infection, there are various transmission routes, such as droplet infection and contact infection.
　The infectivity of the measles virus is extremely strong, and it is said that almost 100% of people without measles immunity develop the symptoms when they are infected with the virus; once infected and upon onset of the virus, immunity lasts for a lifetime.

2. Symptoms of measles

　About 10 days after infection, patients develop cold-like symptoms, such as fever, coughing, and runny nose. After a few days of fever, a high fever of 39 degrees C or higher and a rash occur. Measles patients often develop pneumonia and/or otitis media, and it is also said that one in 1,000 patients develops encephalitis.

3. Preventive measures against infection and an epidemic--Individual caution is required

• Measles cannot be prevented only by hand washing and wearing a mask, but it is said that more than 95% of people can obtain immunity by receiving vaccination.
• Vaccination is effective not only to prevent yourself from being infected but also to prevent the infection from spreading to others.
• If you are involved in medical service or education or planning to travel abroad, check whether you have been infected with measles or received vaccination, and if it is not clear, consider receiving vaccination.
• If you have not been vaccinated against measles and have symptoms characteristic of measles, such as fever, cough, runny nose, and hyperemia of the conjunctiva of the eyeball, first call a hospital and receive a medical examination according to its instruction. At that time, tell the hospital about your actions (whether you went to an overseas epidemic area or a crowded place) 10 to 12 days before the onset of symptoms (the estimated time of infection).

4. Other information

WHO Immunization, Vaccines, Biologicals rubella
https://www.who.int /immunization /diseases /rubella /en /