Communicable Diseases: Task 3
Measles is an infectious illness that can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis, croup, blindness, diarrhea, or death if left untreated. According to Queensland Health (2013), measles symptoms usually start to show after about 10 days. The early symptoms are similar to that of the common cold; they include fever, fatigue, runny nose, conjunctivitis, and coughing. A trademark of measles is small white spots on the inside of the cheek. Once these small white spots appear, a rash usually starts at the hairline and reaches the entire body within one to two days (Queensland, 2013).
Measles is very contagious. Vaccination is the only prevention, and it is strongly encouraged for people who have not had two measles vaccinations to get them. A person is contagious 5 days before symptoms, and continues to be contagious until 4 days after the rash appears. The virus is spread by direct contact with oral or nasal secretions or airborne (Queensland, 2013). Measles occurs worldwide, but the incidence has decreased significantly in regions with high vaccination rates. Barinaga and Skolnik (2013) wrote an article regarding the epidemiology of measles. They found that in the year 2000, approximately 31 to 40 million people contracted measles, and 733,000-777,000 deaths were reported (Barinaga & Skolnik, 2013). There were 47 countries that accounted for about 98% of deaths, and the World Health Assembly worked to provide vaccination, surveillance, and clinical management of affected individuals (Barinaga & Skolnik, 2013). According to the World Health Organization (2011), in the year 2011 there were several large outbreaks in European and African regions, as well as several cases in the Americas which were linked to Europe and Africa. In January of 2011, there were 26,025 reported measles cases in Europe. France alone reported 14,025 of these