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Measles, also known as rubeola, is a common disease caused by a virus of the genus Morbillivirus.
Reports of measles go back to at least 700, however, the first scientific description of the disease and its distinction from smallpox is attributed to the Muslim physician Ibn Razi (Rhazes) 860-932 who published a book entitled Smallpox and Measles in Arabic Kitab fi al-jadari wa-al-hasbah. In 1954, the virus causing the disease was isolated, and licensed vaccines to prevent the disease became available in 1963.
Measles is spread through respiration (contact with fluids from an infected person's nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol transmission), and is highly contagious - 90% of people without immunityThe immune system is any system present in an organism to prevent predation by biological agents. All living organisms have these protective measures, although they vary radically in scope and mechanism. In humans and domesticated animals, the immune syst sharing a house with an infected person will catch it. Airborne precautions should be taken for all suspected cases of measles.
The incubation periodIncubation period is the time elapsed between exposure to a pathogenic organism and when symptoms and signs are first apparent. The period may be as short as minutes, to as long as thirty years in the case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. A person ma usually lasts for 10-12 days (during which there are no symptomThe term symptom has two similar meanings in the context of physical and mental health: A symptom can be a physical condition which shows that one has a particular illness or disorder (see e. Longman, 1995). An example of a symptom in this sense of the wos).
Infected people remain contagious from the appearance of the first symptoms until 3-5 days after the rashA rash is a change in the skin which affects its appearance or texture. A rash may be localised to one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change colour, itch, become warm, bumpy, dry, cracked or blistered, swell and may appears.
1 Symptoms
The classical symptoms of measles include a fever for at least 3 days duration, and the three C's - coughCough is also the name of a band, see Cough (band A cough is a sudden, often repetitive, spasmodic contraction of the thoracic cavity, resulting in violent release of air from the lungs, and usually accompanied by a distinctive sound. A cough is usually i, coryza (runny nose) and conjunctivitisConjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva (the outermost layer of the eye and the inner surface of the eyelids), often due to infection. There are three common varieties of conjunctivitis, viral, allergic, and bacterial. Viral and bacterial con (red eyes). The fever may reach up to 40 degrees Celsius (105 Fahrenheit). Koplik's spots seen inside the mouth are pathognomic (diagnostic) for measles but are not often seen, even in real cases of measles because they are transient and may disappear within a day of arising.
The rash in measles is classically described as a generalised, maculopapular, erythematous rash that begins several days after the fever starts. It starts on the head before spreading to cover most of the body. The measles rash also classically "stains" by changing colour to dark brown from red before disappearing later. The rash can be itchy.
