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Measles

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Health and medicine

   CAPTION: Measles
   Classifications and external resources

   How Measles affects the skin.
     ICD- 10   B 05..-
     ICD- 9    055
   DiseasesDB  7890
   MedlinePlus 001569
    eMedicine  derm/259  ped/1388
          iMeasles virus
   Measles virus
   Measles virus
       Virus classification

   Group:   Group V ( (-)ssRNA)
   Order:   Mononegavirales
   Family:  Paramyxoviridae
   Genus:   Morbillivirus
   Species: Measles virus

   Measles, also known as rubeola, is a disease caused by a virus,
   specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus.

   Reports of measles go back to at least 600 BCE, however, the first
   scientific description of the disease and its distinction from smallpox
   is attributed to the Persian physician Ibn Razi (Rhazes) 860-932 who
   published a book entitled "Smallpox and Measles" (in Arabic: Kitab fi
   al-jadari wa-al-hasbah). In 1954, the virus causing the disease was
   isolated, and licensed vaccines to prevent the disease became available
   in 1963.

   Measles is spread through respiration (contact with fluids from an
   infected person's nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol
   transmission), and is highly contagious—90% of people without immunity
   sharing a house with an infected person will catch it. Airborne
   precautions should be taken for all suspected cases of measles.

   The incubation period usually lasts for 4-12 days (during which there
   are no symptoms).

   Infected people remain contagious from the appearance of the first
   symptoms until 3-5 days after the rash appears.

Symptoms

   The classical symptoms of measles include a fever for at least three
   days, and the three Cs— cough, coryza (runny nose) and conjunctivitis
   (red eyes). The fever may reach up to 105° Fahrenheit/ 40° Celsius.
   Koplik's spots seen inside the mouth are pathognomonic (diagnostic) for
   measles but are not often seen, even in real cases of measles, because
   they are transient and may disappear within a day of arising.

   The characteristic measles rash is classically described as a
   generalized, maculopapular, erythematous rash that begins several days
   after the fever starts. It starts on the head before spreading to cover
   most of the body, often causing itching. The rash is said to "stain",
   changing colour from red to dark brown before disappearing.

Diagnosis

   A detailed history should be taken including course of the disease so
   far, vaccination history, contact history, and travel history.

   Clinical diagnosis of measles requires a history of fever of at least
   three days together with at least one of the three Cs. Observation of
   Koplik's spots is also diagnostic of measles.

   Alternatively, laboratory diagnosis of measles can be done with
   confirmation of positive measles IgM antibodies or isolation of measles
   virus RNA from respiratory specimens.

   Positive contact with other patients known to have measles adds strong
   epidemiological evidence to the diagnosis.

Treatment

   There is no specific treatment for uncomplicated measles. Most patients
   with uncomplicated measles will recover with rest and supportive
   treatment.

Complications

   Complications with measles are relatively common, ranging from
   relatively common and less serious diarrhea, to pneumonia and
   encephalitis ( subacute sclerosing panencephalitis). Complications are
   usually more severe amongst adults who catch the virus.

   The fatality rate from measles for otherwise healthy people in
   developed countries is low: approximately 1 death per thousand cases.
   In underdeveloped nations with high rates of malnutrition and poor
   healthcare, fatality rates of 10 percent are common. In
   immunocompromised patients, the fatality rate is approximately 30
   percent. Measles is estimated to kill 674,000 people in developing
   countries annually.

Public health

   In developed countries, most children are immunised against measles at
   the age of 18 months, generally as part of a three-part MMR vaccine
   (measles, mumps, and rubella). The vaccination is generally not given
   earlier than this because children younger than 18 months usually
   retain anti-measles immunoglobulins (antibodies) transmitted from the
   mother during pregnancy. A "booster" vaccine is then given between the
   ages of four and five. Vaccination rates have been high enough to make
   measles relatively uncommon. Even a single case in a college dormitory
   or similar setting is often met with a local vaccination program, in
   case any of the people exposed are not already immune. In developing
   countries, measles remains common.

   The recent vaccine controversy in the United Kingdom regarding a
   potential link between the combined MMR vaccine (vaccinating children
   from mumps, measles and rubella) and autism has prompted a resurgence
   in popularity of the " measles party", where parents deliberately
   infect the child with measles in order to build up the child's immunity
   without requiring an injection. This practice poses many health risks
   to the child, and has been discouraged by the National Health Service.

   Measles is a significant infectious disease because, while the rate of
   complications is not high, the disease itself is so infectious that the
   sheer number of people who would suffer complications in an outbreak
   amongst non-immune people would quickly overwhelm available hospital
   resources. If vaccination rates fall, the number of non-immune persons
   in the community rises, and the risk of an outbreak of measles
   consequently rises.

   According to the World Health Organization (WHO), measles is a leading
   cause of vaccine preventable childhood mortality—there are 30 million
   cases and 875,000 deaths caused by measles every year. The WHO and the
   United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports that the global
   immunization drive has cut measles deaths by nearly half between 1999
   and 2004 (from 871,000 in 1999 to an estimated 454,000 in 2004),
   "thanks to major national immunization activities and better access to
   routine childhood immunization".

MMR Eradication

   (Not to be confused with the World Health Organization's Measles
   Initiative)

   In the 1990s, the governments of America, along with the Pan American
   Health Organization, launched a plan to eradicate Measles, Mumps, and
   Rubella from the region.

   Indigenous measles has been eliminated in North, Central, and South
   America; the last endemic case in the region was reported on November
   12, 2002.

   Outbreaks are still occurring, however, following importations of
   measles viruses from other world regions. (There is currently an
   outbreak in Boston which resulted from a Boston resident who recently
   visited India. This outbreak, including the 10 index cases, is
   described extensively in an NPR report .)

   There are also plans underway to eliminate Rubella from the region by
   2010 . As of 2006, endemic cases were still being reported in Bolivia,
   Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela, they are
   currently vaccinating Dominican Republic.

   While some smaller organizations have proposed a global MMR eradication
   , none is likely to take place until, at least, after the worldwide
   eradication of Poliomyelitis.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measles"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
