According to the CDC, Measles vaccine is so far the best preventive measure against this disease, although immunized people can get it. To know more about this disease, Youth Village Kenya lists 10 10 facts about measles.
1.It is an infectious disease caused by the RNA virus that belongs to the Paramyxoviridae family. It is highly contagious and transmitted by direct contact through the respiratory tract
2.The main symptom of measles is a rash that causes itching. It usually begins in the head and descends to the rest of the body, indicates data from the National Institutes of Health of the United States.
3.The symptoms can be loss of appetite, fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, conjunctivitis, feeling pain and discomfort, as well as white spots inside the mouth (Koplik spots)
3.The virus enters the respiratory mucosa into the lymph nodes that are part of the body’s defense system. First it multiplies in the back of the throat and lungs. After five or seven days of infection affects the liver respiratory system skin and conjunctiva of the eye.
4.The measles virus remains in an incubation state of 21 days. The first symptoms occur around 10 days after becoming infected, says the CDC.
5.People with measles get to infect others from the first symptoms until about four days after the rash appears.
6.The Measles can only be prevented by applying the vaccine MMR vaccine, which also protects against mumps and rubella. The first dose is administered at one year of age. Children of six and seven years old are given a dose as reinforcement.
7.There is no specific treatment, only hydration, humidification of the environment, measures against fever and analgesics are recommended
8.The measles occurs in temperate regions, usually in late winter and early spring,
9.Some people are immune to measles when they have already had it and when they have been given two doses of the vaccine.
10.Other side effects can be pneumonia, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and miscarriage in case of the mother contracts the virus.
The World Health Organization explains that on a global scale, measles is one of the leading causes of death in children, despite the fact that a safe and effective vaccine exists. In 2012 died 122,000 people, most of them under 5 years.
Children diagnosed should receive two doses of vitamin A supplements with an interval of 24 hours between them, since it is shown that they reduce mortality up to 50%.
Because the virus is very contagious and spreads through coughing, sneezing, as well as personal contact it is very important to prevent. The best option is the triple viral vaccine. Watch your health!
