Measles: focus

Measles is an infectious disease caused by a virus of the genus morbillivirus of the Paramyxoviridae family. Measles is highly contagious and is considered a “childhood” illness as it mainly affects infants, alongside diseases such as chickenpox, whooping cough, mumps and rubella.

Description

Measles lasts between ten and twenty days and does not have particularly serious symptoms, causing flu-like symptoms and a rash. Once the latter has disappeared, infectiousness lasts for up to five days and patients are at their most infectious three days before this, when the body reacts to the presence of the virus with a fever. Once contracted, measles provides an immunization that, theoretically, will last a lifetime.

Causes

At the origin of this disease is the genus morbillivirus virus (of the Paramyxoviridae family). The infection is transmitted through the shedding of infected saliva droplets (e.g. through sneezing or coughing) by a sick individual that are then inhaled by healthy individuals. The saliva droplets can also “infect” objects and surfaces, and remain active and contagious for several hours.

Symptoms

The first symptoms of measles are quite similar to those of a flu (cough, runny nose and red eyes), and a fever that can be very high (40° C). Small white dots then appear inside the mouth, and after three to four days, tell-tale red rashes appear, first on the face and then descending to the feet. Incubation lasts for about ten days, beginning as the virus enters the body and ending with the onset of fever. Contagiousness lasts for up to four to five days after the rashes disappear and is at its highest in the three to four days before the rash clears.

Diagnosis

To make a diagnosis of measles, it is usually sufficient for the doctor to observe the characteristic rash or the small white dots present on the inside of the cheeks. If necessary, the doctor may order a blood test to confirm the presence of the infection.

Treatment

There is no specific treatment option for the treatment of measles, as there is no cure for this disease. Some remedies to assist healing are

• The patient should rest until the rash regresses
• Follow a liquid diet (tea, vegetable broths) on days where a fever is present
• After infection, observe a 15-day convalescence period in which physical exertion, travel, and exposure to cold should be avoided. This is because the body’s recovery after measles is very slow.

Prevention

There is a vaccine to prevent measles. It is often combined in a vaccine complex to include protection against measles, mumps and rubella (MRP in Italy, MMR in UK/USA/Canada) and the first dose should be administered before the child is two years old.

If someone is infected with measles, they should be kept as far away as possible from anyone who has not had the disease or the unvaccinated.