Measles Frequently Asked Questions

Measles is a viral disease spread through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It is not just a rash and can be dangerous, especially for babies and young children. Measles is one of the most contagious vaccine preventable diseases. If one person has it, up to 9 out of 10 people nearby will become infected if they are not immune. You can get measles by being in a room where a person with measles has been even up to two hours after the person has left the room. If someone is infected with measles, they can spread it to others starting four days before the rash starts through four days after an infected person can spread measles to others even before knowing they have the disease. 

Symptoms typically appear seven to 14 days after exposure and include:

• High fever (may spike to more than 104° Fahrenheit).

• Cough.

• Runny nose.

• Red, watery eyes.

• Tiny white spots (Koplik) spots) may appear inside the mouth two to three days after symptoms begin.

• Rash that appears three to five days after the first symptoms. It usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face then spreads downward across the body.
  • On darker or melanated skin, the rash may appear purple, brown, or darker than the surrounding skin rather than red, and may be more subtle. 
  • Sometimes immunocompromised patients do not develop a rash.

Measles typically lasts seven to 10 days. 

Measles Symptoms and Complications | Measles (Rubeola) | CDC

About Measles | Measles (Rubeola) | CDC

Approximately 30% of measles cases in the United States from 1987 to 2000 were reported to have one or more complications, such as: 

• Diarrhea.

• Ear infections.

Severe complications include:

• Hospitalization.

• Lung infection (pneumonia).

• Brain swelling (encephalitis).

• Death.

• Complications during pregnancy. If you are pregnant and have not had the MMR vaccine, measles may cause birth prematurely or a low-birth-weight baby.

Long-term complications:

• Rare but fatal brain disease (subacute sclerosing panencephalitis).

• Immune amnesia. The measles virus has the ability to destroy immune memory from previous infections. This weakens the immune system, making you more likely to get sick from other diseases. This effect can last for years. Measles and Immune Amnesia.

Measles can be serious in all age groups. However, there are several groups more likely to suffer from measles complications:

• Children younger than 5 years of age.

• Adults older than 20 years of age.

• Pregnant women.

• People with weakened immune systems, such as from leukemia or HIV infection.

The best way to prevent measles is to get vaccinated. The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is recommended for children at 12 through 15 months of age, with dose two at 4 through 6 years of age. Most adults are recommended to have at least one dose of MMR. Some adults are recommended to have two doses; this includes all persons working in health care, persons attending college or other post-high school educational institutions, household or close contacts of immunocompromised people and those who plan to travel internationally. Persons born before 1957 are presumed to be immune because they are likely to have had measles. Unless there is a reason that MMR vaccine cannot be received, two doses of MMR vaccine can be received if there is no record of vaccination. An adult that would like to ensure they have two doses should talk to their health care provider. Women should not get the vaccine if they are already pregnant or if they plan to become pregnant within one month after getting the vaccine.

The safety of vaccines is taken very seriously, and vaccines are among the most tested and safest medical products available. However, vaccines, like any medicine, can have side effects. Most people who get MMR vaccine do not have any serious problems. Getting the MMR vaccine is much safer than getting measles, mumps or rubella.

Common side effects include:

• Sore arm from the shot.
• Fever.
• Mild rash.
• Temporary pain and stiffness in the joints.
• Some people may experience swelling in the cheeks or neck.

More serious reactions happen rarely, and include:

• Temporary low platelet count.
• Seizure (often associated with fever).
• Severe allergic reaction.

There are many websites that have information about vaccine safety, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, Immunize.org, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and the Vaccine Education Center of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Immediately call a health care provider and let them know about potential exposure and any symptoms, so the provider can instruct on next steps. The health care provider can make special arrangements to evaluate the patient, if needed, without putting other patients and medical office staff at risk.

If you are seriously ill and need to go to the emergency room, call ahead to let them know you are coming and have concerns you may have measles. Likewise, if you need to call 911 tell them as well.

Michigan has a webpage that provides guidance on measles both nationally and in Michigan. 

Travel warnings by destination can be found online at wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel.

Treatment includes bed rest, fluids and medicine for fever and headache. Antibiotics do not help and will not cure measles or prevent the disease. There are no antiviral drugs for treating measles.

Measles is very contagious. Someone with measles is contagious from four days before the onset date of the rash through the end of the fourth day after the onset of the rash (the onset date of the rash is day zero). During this time, those infected should stay home and not attend work, school or social activities unless they are seeking medical care. If seeking medical care, patients should call ahead to the medical facility and local health department to make arrangements to minimize exposures.

Vitamin A does not prevent measles; only the MMR vaccine can help prevent measles. The best way to prevent measles is to be vaccinated. Vitamin A should not be used to try to prevent measles, nor should it be used in high dosages as it can lead to toxicity (e.g. nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, joint and bone pain, blurry vision, skin/hair problems, increased intracranial pressure, liver damage, confusion, coma, etc.). Vitamin A may be useful as a supplemental treatment once someone has a measles infection, especially if they have a severe case of measles or low vitamin A levels and are under the care of a provider.

There is no scientific evidence that any vaccine, including MMR, causes autism. Learn more about measles and the MMR vaccination from Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan.

Vaccines and autism | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Yes. Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine viruses are not transmitted from the vaccinated person, so MMR vaccination of a household contact does not pose a risk to a pregnant household member. 

No. Measles is a dangerous disease and the vaccine is safe. The risks of severe illness, death or lifelong complications from measles infection far outweigh the generally mild side effects some people experience following vaccination. Serious reactions to the MMR vaccine are rare but the impact from disease can be life altering, including death.

It is true that vaccination has reduced measles and most other vaccine-preventable diseases to very low levels in the United States. However, measles is still very common – even at epidemic levels – in other parts of the world. Visitors to the U.S. and unvaccinated U.S. travelers returning from other countries can unknowingly bring measles into the country. The measles virus is very contagious and can live for up to two hours on a surface or in an airspace where an infected person coughed or sneezed. Even one case of measles can cause the disease to spread very quickly if many people are unvaccinated or not immune. 

To protect your children, yourself, those who cannot medically be vaccinated and others in the community, it is important to be vaccinated against measles. 

The MMR vaccine works very well, but rare breakthrough cases (cases where a person is fully vaccinated), are possible. When that happens, the illness is typically mild.

Breakthrough infections usually happen in communities experiencing an outbreak where high levels of measles virus are circulating. Although the vaccine is 97% effective when given as recommended, it is not 100% effective, and being exposed to high amounts of virus can still cause infection. Our own immune system and health condition are a factor as well. 

• Measles Updates. 

• Think Measles: Recognizing and Addressing Measles in Pediatric Practice.

• Measles Vaccination for Specific Groups | Measles (Rubeola) | CDC.

• Ask The Experts About Vaccines: MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) | Immunize.org.

• Reliable Sources of Immunization Information: Where Parents Can Go to Find Answers!

• Vaccineinformation.org/.

• Vaccinesafety.edu/.

• Vaccine Safety | Children's Hospital of Philadelphia