Portal:Viruses/Selected article/18

Measles is a disease that only affects humans caused by the measles virus, an RNA virus in the Paramyxoviridae family. It is highly contagious, with transmission occurring via the respiratory route or by contact with secretions. Symptoms generally develop 10–12 days after exposure and last 7–10 days; they include high fever, cough, rhinitis and conjunctivitis, white Koplik's spots inside the mouth and a generalised red maculopapular rash. Complications including diarrhoea, otitis media and pneumonia are relatively common; more rarely seizures, encephalitis, croup, corneal ulceration and blindness can occur. The risk of death is usually around 0.2%, but may be as high as 10–28% in areas with high levels of malnutrition and poor healthcare.

Measles was first described by Rhazes (860–932). The disease is estimated to have killed around 200 million people between 1855 and 2005. It affects about 20 million people a year, primarily in the developing areas of Africa and Asia, and is one of the leading vaccine-preventable disease causes of death. No antiviral drug is licensed. An effective measles vaccine is available, but uptake has been reduced by anti-vaccination campaigns, particularly the fraudulent claim that the MMR vaccine might be associated with autism. Rates of disease and deaths increased from 2017 to 2019, attributed to a decrease in immunisation.