Routine Care & Wellness

Measles

Prevention

There is a vaccine to protect against measles. The vaccine is frequently given to adults as part of a combination shot that helps protect against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR). A second dose of the vaccine is recommended for college students, medical personnel, and foreign travelers born after 1956 who have no documented proof of receiving 2 doses of live measles vaccine on or after their first birthday, no documented history of measles or no other evidence of immunity.

Symptoms

Symptoms of measles include:

• high fever
• rash
• runny nose
• watery eyes
• coughing

Vaccine Safety

This vaccine is very safe and effective and generally has few side effects. You cannot get measles from the vaccine. Mild reactions such as fever or redness and swelling at the injection site have been reported. As with any medicine, there are very small risks those serious problems, even death, could occur after getting a vaccine. However, the risks from the disease are much greater than the risks from the vaccine.

Who should get MMR vaccine?

• People of any age can get measles, but those born after 1956 who have no proof of immunity are particularly at risk.
• College students.
• Health care workers who have direct patient contact.
• People traveling to foreign countries, including Europe.

FACTS ABOUT MEASLES

• Measles can be prevented with a safe and effective vaccine.
• Thirty-two states require a second dose of measles vaccine prior to college enrollment.
• You cannot get measles from the vaccine.
• Measles is responsible for more than one million deaths worldwide each year.
• Of the 508 measles patients in 1996, over one-third were 20 years and older.
• Measles is contagious 4 days before to 4 days after the rash appears.
• Pregnant women who get measles have an increased risk for early labor and miscarriage.
• Measles can cause life-threatening pneumonia and brain inflammation, middle-ear infections, severe diarrhea, and sometimes convulsions.
• In 1996, the largest measles outbreak in the country (121 cases) affected primarily those who had not received a second dose of MMR vaccine.
• International importation continues to contribute to the transmission of measles in the United States.
• The risk of death from measles is known to be higher for infants and adults than for children.

These facts about measles are courtesy of the
National Coalition of Adult Immunization

to reach their organization, please click here for more information.