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• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors

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• Related Issues

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• Images

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• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

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• Children
• Women
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Measles is an infectious disease caused by a virus. It spreads easily from person to person. It causes a blotchy red rash. The rash often starts on the head and moves down the body. Other symptoms include:

• Fever
• Cough
• Runny nose
• Conjunctivitis (pink eye)
• Feeling achy and run down
• Tiny white spots inside the mouth

Sometimes measles can lead to serious problems. There is no treatment for measles, but the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine can prevent it.

"German measles", also known as rubella, is a completely different illness.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• About Measles (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Measles (Rubeola) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Questions about Measles (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Symptoms

• Measles Symptoms and Complications (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Measles and Mumps Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Nasal Swab (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• How to Protect Your Children during a Measles Outbreak (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• MMR Vaccine (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella): What You Need to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish
• MMRV Vaccine (Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella): What You Need to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Vaccination Is the Best Protection against Measles (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) Vaccine Safety (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Plan for Travel: Measles (Rubeola) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Images

• Measles (Rubeola) Condition, Treatments and Pictures for Children (VisualDX)
• Photos of Measles (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Statistics and Research

• Measles Cases and Outbreaks (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• U.S. Measles Tracker (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Measles (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Delayed or Absent First Dose of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccination.
• Article: Diagnostic Approaches for Measles Virus: Methods, Advances, and Ongoing Challenges.
• Article: Glycosylation as a strategic mechanism for measles virus and mumps virus...
• Measles -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Children

• Measles Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Measles: What Parents Need to Know (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Measles: What You Need to Know (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Women

• Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) Vaccine (In Pregnancy and While Breastfeeding) (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Measles (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• MMR Vaccine (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella): What You Need to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish
• MMRV Vaccine (Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella): What You Need to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish
• Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish