It spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes. How measles spreads Measles is a highly contagious virus that lives in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person. Animals do not get or spread measles. The virus can live for up to two hours in an airspace. Related Links. A doctor can usually diagnose measles by looking at the signs and symptoms, but they may order a blood test to confirm a diagnosis.
Is it chickenpox or measles? Find out how to tell the difference here. There is no specific treatment for measles, and symptoms usually go away within 7 to 10 days. If there are no complications, the doctor will recommend rest and plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. If there is a risk of complications, the doctor may recommend spending time in the hospital.
If a child needs treatment in the hospital, a doctor will prescribe vitamin A. The following tips may help manage symptoms:.
The measles is a viral infection, and antibiotics will not help. However, a doctor may prescribe them if a person develops an additional bacterial infection. Tylenol or ibuprofen are available for purchase online. A doctor will usually recommend vaccination for those who have not had measles and do not have immunity.
Newborns have immunity from their mother for several months after birth if the mother has immunity. In some cases, however, a doctor may recommend vaccination before the age of 12 months. This may happen if there is a risk of an outbreak in the area where they live. Adults do not need a vaccine in the U. These can help prevent an infection or lessen its severity.
This is because the vaccine was first licensed in Before then , most people had been naturally exposed to the infection by their adolescent years and became immune as a result.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC , serious complications are not only more common in young children, but also in adults over the age of These complications can include things like pneumonia , encephalitis , and blindness. At least one dose of the vaccine is recommended for unvaccinated adults.
Babies receive some protection from measles through passive immunity, which is provided from mother to child through the placenta and during breastfeeding. However, research has shown that this immunity can be lost in just over 2. Children under 5 years of age are more likely to have complications due to measles.
These can include things like pneumonia , encephalitis , and ear infections that can result in hearing loss. The incubation period of an infectious disease is the time that passes between exposure and when symptoms develop.
The incubation period for measles is between 10 and 14 days. After the initial incubation period, you may begin to experience nonspecific symptoms, such as fever, cough, and runny nose. The rash will begin to develop several days later.
In addition to a classic measles infection, there are also several other types of measles infections that you can get. Atypical measles occurs in people who received a killed measles vaccine between and When exposed to measles, these individuals come down with an illness that has symptoms such as high fever, rash, and sometimes pneumonia.
Modified measles is typically milder than a regular case of measles. Hemorrhagic measles is rarely reported in the United States. It causes symptoms like high fever, seizures , and bleeding into the skin and mucus membranes. However, it can cause serious complications if a woman develops the infection while pregnant. Both viruses:. Getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent measles. Two doses of the measles vaccine are 97 percent effective at preventing measles infection.
The MMR vaccine is a three-in-one vaccination that can protect you from measles, mumps , and rubella. Children can receive their first vaccination at 12 months, or sooner if traveling internationally, and their second dose between the ages of 4 and 6.
Adults who have never received an immunization can request the vaccine from their doctor. Side effects to vaccination are typically mild and disappear in a few days. They can include things like fever and mild rash. In rare cases, the vaccine has been linked to low platelet count or seizures. Some believe that the measles vaccine can cause autism in children. The illness may be prolonged but is self-limited. Fatalities are exceedingly rare.
Measles can often be diagnosed clinically, especially if Koplik spots are noted. White or bluish Koplik spots first appear on the mucosa opposite the lower molar teeth and, with time, spread to the entire buccal mucosa. In the laboratory, the diagnosis can be made by virus isolation, performed using peripheral blood mononuclear cells PBMC , nasal washings, broncholavage samples, or available tissues in the instance of fatalities. For virus isolation, primary human or monkey kidney cells are mainly used.
It is also possible to demonstrate measles antigens or RNA in infected tissues. These cells are the result of cell fusion. Multinucleated giant cells may originate from lymphoid classical Warthin-Finkeldey cells or epithelial cells.
Because virus isolation is difficult and expensive, it has been largely supplanted by polymerase chain reaction PCR for diagnosis. PCR for measles virus is commercially available and is also performed by many local health departments. Detection of measles virus RNA by RT-PCR is thought to be highly sensitive and specific, although studies of sensitivity and specificity are not yet available.
Measles RNA may be persistent for long periods of time in certain tissues and may not necessarily indicate replication of the virus. Nucleotide sequencing that can differentiate between vaccine and wild type virus is available through local health departments.
The presence of IgM antibodies to measles virus in a single blood specimen is considered diagnostic. IgM may not be detectable until well into the development of the rash, so two determinations may be necessary if the first is negative and measles is still suspected. Measles IgM persists for about 1 month after rash onset. A four-fold increase in IgG antibody titer in acute and convalescent blood specimens is diagnostic of measles.
Measles virus enters the body at the respiratory tract using the signaling lymphocyte activation molecule SLAM receptor and is thought to multiply first in lymphoid cells. Attenuated measles vaccine strains also utilize another cellular receptor, CD The virus then invades epithelial cells in many organs, as well as the respiratory tract. In the respiratory tract, progeny is released into the airway, enabling transmission of the virus to others by the airborne route.
Infection of the respiratory tract sets the stage for cough, coryza, croup, bronchiolitis, otitis media, and pneumonia.
Damage to the respiratory tract, such as loss of cilia and immunosuppression and neutropenia caused by the virus, may predispose to severe complications, such as pneumonia. Secondary bacterial infection is also facilitated by these transient abnormalities in host defense. Measles virus spreads to many organs via lymphocytes and monocytes by cell-associated viremia. The virus multiplies in lymphoid organs and tissues, such as thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, and tonsils, as well as the skin, lung, gastrointestinal tract, and liver tissues.
The hallmark of infection is the multinucleated giant cell. The onset of clinical disease corresponds to activation of adaptive immune responses, with activation, as well as immunosuppression, which probably accounts for the many infectious complications of measles.
Presumably, many of the symptoms are the result of tissue destruction, such as cilia, by the virus directly and also possibly due to cytokine release. J Med Virol. Ann Intern Med. Pediatr Infect Dis J. Clin Infect Dis. Manual of clinical microbiology. J Infect Dis. Am J Med. Hussey, GD, Klein, M.
New Eng J Med. Krasinski, K, Borkowsky, W. Am J Dis Child. Epidemiology and infection. N Engl J Med. Emerg Infect Dis. Microbiology spectrum 4 Public health reports. Sotir, MJ.
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