Editing Measles (section)

{{Short description|Viral disease affecting humans}}
{{About|the disease}}
{{Distinguish|text=either [[rubella]] (sometimes called "German measles") or [[roseola]], other viral diseases that cause a rash and fever}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{cs1 config|name-list-style=vanc|display-authors=6}}
{{Infobox medical condition
| name = Measles
| image = RougeoleDP.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = A child showing a day-four measles rash
| field = [[Infectious disease (medical specialty)|Infectious disease]]
| synonyms = Morbilli, rubeola, red measles, English measles<ref name=Mil2015/><ref name=Stan2002>{{cite book|last=Stanley|first=Jacqueline|title=Essentials of Immunology & Serology|year=2002|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-7668-1064-8 | pages = 323|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nuCT5RVToN4C&pg=PA323|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908140851/https://books.google.com/books?id=nuCT5RVToN4C&pg=PA323|archive-date=8 September 2017}}</ref>
| symptoms = Fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, rash<ref name="Merck Manual" /><ref name=CDC2014SS/>
| complications = [[Pneumonia]], [[seizure]]s, [[encephalitis]], [[subacute sclerosing panencephalitis]], [[immunosuppression]], hearing loss, blindness<ref name="Pink Book" /><ref name=Rot2016/>
| onset = 10–12 days after exposure<ref name="WHO2014"/><ref name="Conn2014">{{cite book|last1=Bope|first1=Edward T.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hv8fBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT189|title=Conn's Current Therapy 2015|last2=Kellerman|first2=Rick D.|date=2014|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-0-323-31956-0|pages=153|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908140851/https://books.google.com/books?id=Hv8fBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT189|archive-date=8 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
| duration = 7–10 days<ref name=WHO2014/><ref name=Conn2014/>(not including complications)
| causes = [[Measles virus]]<ref name="Merck Manual" />
| risks = 
| diagnosis = 
| differential = 
| prevention = [[Measles vaccine]]<ref name=WHO2014/>
| treatment = [[supportive treatment|Supportive care]]<ref name=WHO2014/>
| medication = 
| frequency = 20 million per year<ref name="Merck Manual" />
| deaths = 140,000+ (2018)<ref name="who._More">{{cite press release | title = More than 140,000 die from measles as cases surge worldwide | work = [[World Health Organization]] (WHO)| date = 5 December 2019| access-date = 4 September 2020| url = https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/05-12-2019-more-than-140-000-die-from-measles-as-cases-surge-worldwide| archive-date = 6 August 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200806185302/https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/05-12-2019-more-than-140-000-die-from-measles-as-cases-surge-worldwide| url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="cdc._Glob">{{cite web| title = Global Measles Outbreaks| work = U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC)| date = 17 August 2020| access-date = 4 September 2020| url = https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/measles/globalmeaslesoutbreaks.htm| archive-date = 7 September 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200907110447/https://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/measles/globalmeaslesoutbreaks.htm| url-status = dead}}</ref>
}}

'''Measles''' (probably from [[Middle Dutch]] or [[Middle High German]] ''masel(e)'', meaning "blemish, [[blood blister]]")<ref>{{Cite web
|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/measles#etymonline_v_12498
|title=measles (n.)
|website=[[Online Etymology Dictionary]]
|author=Douglas Harper
|access-date=14 September 2024
|publisher=
|date=n.d.
|archive-date=14 September 2024
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914041845/https://www.etymonline.com/word/measles#etymonline_v_12498
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=measles |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/measles_n |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920035137/https://www.oed.com/dictionary/measles_n |archive-date=20 September 2023 |access-date=10 April 2025 |website=Oxford English Dictionary |url-status=live }}</ref> is a highly contagious, [[Vaccine-preventable diseases|vaccine-preventable]] [[infectious disease]] caused by [[Measles morbillivirus|measles virus]].<ref name="Merck Manual">{{cite web |last=Tesini |first=Brenda L. |date=July 2023 |editor= |title=Measles |url=https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/pediatrics/common-viral-infections-in-infants-and-children/measles |website=Merck Manual Professional |access-date=10 April 2025 |archive-date=8 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250408184735/https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/pediatrics/common-viral-infections-in-infants-and-children/measles |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Pink Book" /> Other names include ''morbilli'', ''rubeola'', ''9-day measles, red measles'', and ''English measles''.<ref name=Mil2015>{{cite book|last=Milner|first=Danny A.|title=Diagnostic Pathology: Infectious Diseases E-Book|year=2015|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-0-323-40037-4 | pages = 24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YJ_uCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170908140851/https://books.google.com/books?id=YJ_uCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|archive-date=8 September 2017}}</ref><ref name="Merck Manual" />

Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days.<ref name="WHO2014">{{cite web|date=14 November 2024|title=Measles Fact Sheet|url=https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles|access-date=10 April 2025|website=[[World Health Organization]] (WHO)|archive-date=28 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221128010546/https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles|url-status=live}}</ref> Initial symptoms typically include [[fever]], often greater than {{cvt|40|C|0}}, cough, [[Rhinitis|runny nose]], and [[conjunctivitis|inflamed eyes]].<ref name="Merck Manual" /><ref name=CDC2014SS/> Small white spots known as [[Koplik's spots|Koplik spots]] may form inside the mouth two or three days after the start of symptoms.<ref name=CDC2014SS/> A red, flat rash which usually starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body typically begins three to five days after the start of symptoms.<ref name="CDC2014SS">{{cite web|date=3 November 2014|title=Measles (Rubeola) Signs and Symptoms|url=https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/signs-symptoms.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202192809/http://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/signs-symptoms.html|archive-date=2 February 2015|access-date=5 February 2015|website=U.S. [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC)}}</ref> Common complications include [[diarrhea]] (in 8% of cases), [[Otitis media|middle ear infection]] (7%), and [[pneumonia]] (6%).<ref name="Pink Book" /> These occur in part due to measles-induced [[immunosuppression]].<ref name=Rot2016>{{cite journal | vauthors = Rota PA, Moss WJ, Takeda M, de Swart RL, Thompson KM, Goodson JL | title = Measles | journal = Nature Reviews. Disease Primers | volume = 2 | pages = 16049 | date = July 2016 | pmid = 27411684 | doi = 10.1038/nrdp.2016.49 | doi-access = free | title-link = doi }}</ref> Less commonly, [[seizure]]s, [[blindness]], or [[encephalitis|inflammation of the brain]] may occur.<ref name="Pink Book" /><ref name=WHO2014/>

Measles is an [[airborne disease]] which [[Human-to-human transmission|spreads easily from one person to the next]] through the [[cough]]s and [[sneeze]]s of infected people.<ref name=WHO2014/> It may also be spread through direct contact with mouth or [[mucus|nasal secretions]].<ref name="WHO2014" /> It is extremely contagious: nine out of ten people who are not immune and share living space with an infected person will be infected. Furthermore, measles's [[reproductive number]] estimates vary beyond the frequently cited range of 12 to 18,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Guerra|first1=Fiona M.|last2=Bolotin|first2=Shelly|last3=Lim|first3=Gillian|last4=Heffernan|first4=Jane|last5=Deeks|first5=Shelley L.|last6=Li|first6=Ye|last7=Crowcroft|first7=Natasha S.|date=December 2017|title=The basic reproduction number (R0) of measles: a systematic review|journal=The Lancet. Infectious Diseases|volume=17|issue=12|pages=e420–e428|doi=10.1016/S1473-3099(17)30307-9|issn=1474-4457|pmid=28757186 }}</ref> with a 2017 review giving a range of 3.7 to 203.3.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Complexity of the Basic Reproduction Number (R0) | year = 2019 | publisher = NIH website | pmc = 6302597 | quote = [a] review in 2017 identified feasible measles R0 values of 3.7–203.3 | last1 = Delamater | first1 = P. L. | last2 = Street | first2 = E. J. | last3 = Leslie | first3 = T. F. | last4 = Yang | first4 = Y. T. | last5 = Jacobsen | first5 = K. H. | journal = Emerging Infectious Diseases | volume = 25 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–4 | doi = 10.3201/eid2501.171901 | pmid = 30560777 }}</ref> People are infectious to others from four days before to four days after the start of the rash.<ref name="Pink Book" /> While often regarded as a childhood illness, it can affect people of any age.<ref name=Medscape2018>{{cite report |last1=Selina|first1=SP|last2=Chen|first2=MD|date=6 June 2019 |title=Measles |url=https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/966220-overview |url-access=registration|publisher=Medscape |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925023230/http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/966220-overview |archive-date=25 September 2011 }}</ref> Most people do not get the disease more than once.<ref name=WHO2014/> Testing for the measles virus in suspected cases is important for public health efforts.<ref name="Pink Book" /> Measles is not known to occur in other animals.<ref name="WHO Measles fact sheet" />

Once a person has become infected, no specific treatment is available, although [[supportive care]] may improve outcomes.<ref name=WHO2014/> Such care may include [[oral rehydration solution]] (slightly sweet and salty fluids), healthy food, and medications to control the fever.<ref name=WHO2014/><ref name="Conn2014"/> [[Antibiotics]] should be prescribed if secondary bacterial infections such as ear infections or pneumonia occur.<ref name=WHO2014/><ref name="WHO Measles fact sheet" /> [[Vitamin A]] supplementation is also recommended for children under the age of 5.<ref name="WHO2014" /> Among cases reported in the U.S. between 1985 and 1992, death occurred in 0.2% of cases,<ref name="Pink Book" /> but may be up to 10% in people with [[malnutrition]].<ref name=WHO2014/> Most of those who die from the infection are less than five years old.<ref name="WHO2014" />

The [[measles vaccine]] is effective at preventing the disease, is exceptionally safe, and is often delivered [[MMR vaccine|in combination]] with other vaccines.<ref name=WHO2014/><ref name="Russell2019">{{cite journal |last1=Russell |first1=SJ |last2=Babovic-Vuksanovic |first2=D |last3=Bexon |first3=A |last4=Cattaneo |first4=R |last5=Dingli |first5=D |last6=Dispenzieri |first6=A |last7=Deyle |first7=DR |last8=Federspiel |first8=MJ |last9=Fielding |first9=A |last10=Galanis |first10=E |title=Oncolytic Measles Virotherapy and Opposition to Measles Vaccination. |journal=Mayo Clinic Proceedings |date=September 2019 |volume=94 |issue=9 |pages=1834–39 |doi=10.1016/j.mayocp.2019.05.006 |pmid=31235278|pmc=6800178 }}</ref> Due to the ease with which measles is transmitted from person to person in a community, more than 95% of the community must be vaccinated in order to achieve [[herd immunity]].<ref name="Ludlow2015">{{cite journal |vauthors=Ludlow M, McQuaid S, Milner D, de Swart RL, Duprex WP |date=January 2015 |title=Pathological consequences of systemic measles virus infection |journal=The Journal of Pathology |volume=235 |issue=2 |pages=253–65 |doi=10.1002/path.4457 |pmid=25294240 | doi-access = free | title-link = doi }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=April 2025}} [[Vaccination]] resulted in an 80% decrease in deaths from measles between 2000 and 2017, with about 85% of children worldwide having received their first dose as of 2017.<ref name="WHO2014" /> Measles affects about 20 million people a year,<ref name="Merck Manual" /> primarily in the developing areas of Africa and Asia.<ref name=WHO2014/> It is one of the leading vaccine-preventable disease causes of death.<ref name=Kabra2013>{{cite journal | vauthors = Kabra SK, Lodha R | title = Antibiotics for preventing complications in children with measles | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | volume = 2013 | issue = 8 | pages = CD001477 | date = August 2013 | pmid = 23943263 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD001477.pub4 | pmc = 7055587 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Despite the availability of a safe, effective and inexpensive vaccine for more than 40 years, measles remains a leading vaccine-preventable cause of childhood deaths. |url=https://www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/MI_Fact%20Sheet_17_jan_2007.pdf |access-date=16 February 2019 |archive-date=12 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212171454/https://www.who.int/immunization/newsroom/MI_Fact%20Sheet_17_jan_2007.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1980, 2.6 million people died from measles,<ref name=WHO2014/> and in 1990, 545,000 died due to the disease; by 2014, global vaccination programs had reduced the number of deaths from measles to 73,000.<ref name=GBD2015De>{{cite journal | vauthors = ((GBD 2015 Mortality and Causes of Death Collaborators)) | title = Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980-2015: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 | journal = Lancet | volume = 388 | issue = 10053 | pages = 1459–1544 | date = October 2016 | pmid = 27733281 | pmc = 5388903 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31012-1 }}</ref><ref name=GDB2013>{{cite journal | title = Global, regional, and national age-sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 | journal = Lancet | volume = 385 | issue = 9963 | pages = 117–71 | date = January 2015 | pmid = 25530442 | pmc = 4340604 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61682-2 | vauthors = ((GBD 2013 Mortality Causes of Death Collaborators)) }}</ref> Despite these trends, rates of disease and deaths increased from 2017 to 2019 due to a decrease in immunization.<ref>{{cite web |title=Measles cases spike globally due to gaps in vaccination coverage |url=https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/29-11-2018-measles-cases-spike-globally-due-to-gaps-in-vaccination-coverage |website=[[World Health Organization]] (WHO) |access-date=21 December 2018 |date=29 November 2018 |archive-date=24 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224020216/https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/29-11-2018-measles-cases-spike-globally-due-to-gaps-in-vaccination-coverage |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=U.S. measles cases surge nearly 20 percent in early April, CDC says |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-measles/measles-cases-in-u-s-surge-nearly-20-in-early-april-cdc-says-idUSKCN1RR1H4 |access-date=16 April 2019 |work=Reuters |date=16 April 2019 |archive-date=15 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415160142/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-measles/measles-cases-in-u-s-surge-nearly-20-in-early-april-cdc-says-idUSKCN1RR1H4 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Measles – European Region |url=https://www.who.int/csr/don/06-may-2019-measles-euro/en/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190508120456/https://www.who.int/csr/don/06-may-2019-measles-euro/en/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 May 2019 |website=[[World Health Organization]] (WHO) |access-date=8 May 2019}}</ref>
[[File:En.Wikipedia-VideoWiki-Measles.webm|thumb|thumbtime=1:30|upright=1.4|Video summary ([[Wikipedia:VideoWiki/Measles|script]])]]
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