Statistics indicate that about 1,34,200 children, mostly under the age of five, died due to measles around the world in 2015. In India, it killed 49,200 children. As per the IMA, measles is a deadly disease and one of the main causes behind child mortality in the country. Eliminating measles will help achieve Sustainable Development Goal’s target 3.2, which aims to end preventable deaths of children under five by 2030.
Measles is a highly infectious illness caused by the rubeola virus. As many as 21 strains of the virus have been identified to date. The virus takes about one to three weeks to establish itself. While there is no specific treatment for this, getting vaccination at the right time can be affective. Pregnant women are advised taking the vaccine.
The rubeolavirus lives in the mucus of the nose and throat of an infected child or adult. The disease is contagious for four days before the rash appears. It then continues to be contagious for about four-five days after. A person can get infected through physical contact with an infected person, being near an infected people when they cough or sneeze, touching a surface that has infected droplets of mucus. The infection then replicates in the urinary tract, eyes, blood vessels, and central nervous system.”
Some tips to ease the symptoms of measles include the following.
— Courtesy Indian Medical Association