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Measles Information

What you need to know (Missouri Fact Sheet) Measles is a very contagious disease. One person with measles can easily pass it on to 9 out of 10 people around them who are unvaccinated or do not have natural immunity. Measles can be very dangerous, especially for babies and immunocompromised adults, and a significant proportion of measles cases will need hospitalization. One in 5 infected persons develops pneumonia, which could be fatal. In some cases, a brain infection may occur and result in swelling, brain damage or death. Herd immunity is crucial for preventing disease outbreaks in the community and protecting vulnerable populations who cannot receive vaccines. It can be achieved by 95% of a community being fully vaccinated by two doses of the MMR vaccine. Missouri’s measles vaccination rate of 90.14% is too low to protect our kids from outbreaks based on preliminary school-reported data. Two doses of the MMR vaccine provides 97% lifetime protection against measles.

Early symptoms (first few days): Moderate fever Cough Runny nose Red eyes Sore throat Later symptoms (after a few days): Blue-white spots inside the mouth (Koplik spots) Red-brown rash that starts at the hairline and spreads down the body High fever (can go over 104°F) The rash usually appears 14 days after exposure. Some immunocompromised people may not develop the rash.