measles and your child

Measles is a highly infectious viral illness. The illness causes a range of symptoms including fever, coughing and distinctive red-brown spots.

Although it is a readily identifiable rash it is frequently over-diagnosed in children with rashes for many other reasons but outbreaks do still regularly occur in communities of children.

The infection is spread through the air through droplets of saliva. You can catch Measles through direct contact with an infected person or through the air when they cough or sneeze. The droplets can also survive and remain contagious on surfaces for a few hours.

who is affected by measles?

The worst Measles plague was when explorers gave Measles to the native people of North and South America in the 1500's AD. Because this was a disease which nobody in America had ever had before, nobody had any resistance to it. Measles and smallpox together seem to have gradually killed about nine out of every ten of the native people living in North and South America as well as the Aborigine tribes of Australia.

Measles is most common amongst children who are between the ages of one and four years. Although anyone who has not been immunised against the condition can catch it. It is rare in children under one year of age as they are generally protected by immunity from their mothers, if they have had Measles as a child.

Symptoms of the Measles virus infection appear 9-11 days after the infection begins and last up to 14 days. Cross infecting other children occurs just after the first symptoms have appeared and before the rash has developed, so infection is often transmitted to other children before the diagnosis has been made in the child who is infected. This explains why so many children who are unimmunised against Measles catch the illness before first case is isolated. As a result many children in a nursery or school can be infected before the spread of the illness is brought under control.

The Measles rash is flat reddish brown spots which have an irregular "blotchy" pattern. The old name for Measles is "morbilli" and the rash is called a "morbilliform" rash. The rash begins on the face and moves to the trunk then to the arms and legs. Redness of the eyes, called conjunctivitis is usually present, as are swollen glands (lymph nodes) which are easily felt in the neck and groin. Children with Measles are generally miserable and dislike light shining in their eyes.

Treatment for Measles is normally not necessary because the body's immune system (defence against viruses) can usually fight off infection in a couple of weeks. Typically, once you have fought off the Measles infection, you will develop immunity to it.

Prior to vaccination, Measles virus infected over 100,000 children a year in the UK - killing around 100 every year. It is still a major killer and cause of serious illness in children around the world. Measles causes:

Diarrhoea (1 in 6)
Ear infection - usually no permanent hearing loss (1 in 20)
Pneumonia (1 in 25)
Convulsions (1 in 200)
Meningitis/encephalitis (1 in 1,000)
Death (1 in 2,500-5,000)
Severe, progressive demyelinating neurological illness called sub-acute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) (1 in 1,000,000)

At birth, infants have protection against certain diseases because antibodies have passed through the placenta from the mother to the unborn child. After birth, breastfed babies get the continued benefits of additional antibodies in breast milk. In both cases, the protection is temporary lasting up to about one year of age. Immunization (vaccination) is a way of creating immunity to certain diseases by using small amounts of a killed or weakened microbe that causes the particular disease.

The use of combination vaccine products means that as of 2006 the UK immunisation program consists of just 11 injections by the age of two years and a further three injections by the time of leaving school. In comparison, by two years of age, U.S. children receive as many as 24 vaccine injections, and might receive up to 5 injections during one visit to the doctor.

The success of the MMR vaccine (MMR vaccine is an immunization shot against measles, mumps and rubella) means that cases of Measles are rare in the UK but in recent years the number of cases has been increasing. For example, in 2009 there were 1,143 cases of Measles in England and Wales compared with 70 cases in 2001.

It is thought that the rise in the number of cases of Measles is due to parents not getting their child vaccinated with the MMR vaccine. This is probably due to speculation linking MMR to Autism.

Publicity in 1998 highlighted a report claiming a link between the MMR jab and Autism. However, numerous studies that were undertaken to investigate this claim found no evidence of any links between Measles and Autism.

If you suspect your child has Measles do not bring them to nursery. When their temperature has settled and are eating and drinking normally they should return to nursery. Treat the illness as you would treat any feverish illness – plenty of paracetamol or ibuprofen, and encourage fluid intake. If you are concerned that your child is not improving after 48-72 hours do ask your GP to see your child. This is important if they seem to be breathing fast or coughing despite reducing their temperature. Possible complications of Measles include Pneumonia, ear and eye infections and Croup.