I.

Introduction
What is Measles?
Measles, also known as Rubeola, is an infection of the respiratory system
caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus.
Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded,
negative-sense RNA viruses. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red
eyes and a generalized, maculopapular, erythematous rash.
Measles is a highly infectious viral illness. It causes a range of symptoms
including fever, coughing and distinctive red-brown spots on the skin.The
measles virus is contained in the millions of tiny droplets that come out of the
nose and mouth when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
You can catch measles by breathing in these droplets or, if the droplets
have settled on a surface, by touching the surface and then placing your hands
near your nose or mouth. The most effective way of preventing measles is the
measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
II. Body
A. History
The Antonine Plague, 165-180 AD, also known as the Plague of Galen,
who described it, was probably smallpox or measles. Disease killed as much as
one-third of the population in some areas, and decimated the Roman army. The
first scientific description of measles and its distinction from smallpox
and chickenpox is credited to the Persian physician, Muhammad ibn Zakariya ar-
Razi (860-932), known to the West as "Rhazes", who published a book
entitled The Book of Smallpox and Measles (in Arabic: Kitab fi al-jadari wa-al-
hasbah).
Measles is an endemic disease, meaning that it has been continually
present in a community, and many people develop resistance. In populations that
have not been exposed to measles, exposure to a new disease can be
devastating. In 1529, a measles outbreak in Cuba killed two-thirds of the natives
who had previously survived smallpox.
 Two years later measles was responsible for the deaths of half the
population of Honduras, and had ravaged Mexico, Central America, and
the Incacivilization.
In roughly the last 150 years, measles has been estimated to have killed
about 200 million people worldwide. During the 1850s, measles killed a fifth
of Hawaii's people. In 1875, measles killed over 40,000 Fijians, approximately
one-third of the population. In the 19th century, the disease decimated
the Andamanese population.
In 1954, the virus causing the disease was isolated from an 11-year old
boy from the United States, David Edmonston, and adapted and propagated
on chick embryo tissue culture. To date, 21 strains of the measles virus have
been identified. While at Merck, Maurice Hilleman developed the first successful
vaccine. Licensed vaccines to prevent the disease became available in 1963.
B. Description

Histopathology (tissue) of measles pneumonia. Giant cell

 Intra oral rash of measles

This patient presented on the third pre-eruptive day with “Koplik spots” indicative of the beginning onset of
measles.
Types Of Measles
1. German measles or rubella- which forms rashes on the skin and it last
about three days and rubeola or regular measles.

2. Roseola- is another infectious disease prevalent among children

Roseola forms rashes and which comes and goes in 24 to 48 hours.
C. Measures
Most people in the developed world think of measles as a pesky but fairly
benign childhood disease. For the current generation, who has had the benefit of
immunization with measles vaccine, it is also a historical curiosity. Not so for the
developing world, where measles has been a major killer of children and infants.
Measles is very contagious, more contagious than influenza, which is
saying something. Pneumonia and diarrheal dehydration will kill on average 10%
of its young victims in the developing world. Some of those that survive suffer
blindness or deafness. In 1990 the global death toll was over a million children
and by 2000 it was still three-quaters of a million. That was cut by two thirds (to a
quarter of a million) in the first year of the Measles Initiative, a partnership of
private groups (American Red Cross), intergovernmental organizations (WHO,
UNICEF) and the US CDC. So far it has cost $470 million, about two days worth
of the War in Iraq. You do the arithmetic.
Measles vaccine is injected, so it's not as easy as an oral vaccine. But the
Initiative has boosted vaccination rates in African children from 56% to 73%, an
increase by almost a third (US pre-schoolers are 96% covered). As a greater
proportion of the population becomes immune, it is harder for the disease to
spread (the probability of a contact being between an infected and a susceptible
decreases), so while the coverage isn't complete, this is a huge increase and the
results show it.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), measles is a leading
cause of vaccine-preventable childhood mortality. Worldwide, the fatality rate has
been significantly reduced by a vaccination campaign led by partners in
the Measles Initiative: the American Red Cross, the United States Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations Foundation, UNICEF
and the World Health Organization (WHO). Globally, measles fell 60% from an
estimated 873,000 deaths in 1999 to 345,000 in 2005. Estimates for 2008
indicate deaths fell further to 164,000 globally, with 77% of the remaining
measles deaths in 2008 occurring within the South-East Asian region.
III. Prevention
Vaccination and immunization has minimized the disease to great extend.
Medically, initial measles immunization is done to the children from age 12- 15
months. The second immunization is done to the children enter to school or
middle school level.
Generally as part of a three-part MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and
rubella). The vaccination is generally not given earlier than this because
children younger than 18 months usually retain anti- measles
immunoglobulins (antibodies) transmitted from the mother during
pregnancy. A second dose is usually given to children between the ages of
four and five, in order to increase rates of immunity. Vaccination rates have
been high enough to make measles relatively uncommon. Even a single
case in a college dormitory or similar setting is often met with a local
vaccination program, in case any of the people exposed are not already
immune.
The use of Vitamin A in treatment has been investigated. A
systematic review of trials into its use found no significant reduction in
overall mortality, but that it did reduce mortality in children aged under 2
years
Self-Care at Home
There is no proper cure for measles; But one can take necessary steps at home
to make total course of disease more adjustable and tolerable.
• Giving sufficient bed rest to the child so he feels more comfortable.
• If the child has fever higher than 100.5°F, then the child should be given
sponge bath with lukewarm water to upper body and the face.
• Plenty of liquid should be given to drink to avoid dehydration.
• Cough medicines to be given as approved for children, this can help in
control the cough.
• A vaporizer or humidifier can be used to ease the cough.
 • Pain reliever and medicine for fever to be given to children such as
Children's Motrin, Ibuprin, Pediaprofen and Children's Advil according to
the symptoms. One has to be very careful giving medicines to children
because if aspirin is given to a child then he may have Reye syndrome
that is another disease.
• Benadryl or Calamine lotion should be applied on the effected parts to
ease the itch occur due to the rash.
• Child fingernails should be trimmed or to be put inside the gloves to avoid
scratching the rash excessively and which can hurt more.
IV. Recommendation
• Emphasis on the use of combined MMR vaccine for most indications;
• A change in the recommended age for routine vaccination to 12-15
months for the first dose of MMR, and to 4-6 years for the second dose of
MMR;
• A recommendation that all states take immediate steps to implement a two
dose MMR requirement for school entry and any additional measures
needed to ensure that all school-aged children are vaccinated with two
doses of MMR by 2001;
• A clarification of the role of serologic screening to determine immunity;
• A change in the criteria for determining acceptable evidence of rubella
immunity;
• A recommendation that all persons who work in health-care facilities have
acceptable evidence of measles and rubella immunity;
• Changes in the recommended interval between administration of immune
globulin and measles vaccination; and
• Updated information on adverse events and contraindications, particularly
for persons with severe HIV infection, persons with a history of egg allergy
or gelatin allergy, persons with a history of thrombocytopenia, and persons
receiving steroid therapy.
 Treatment for measles is normally not necessary as the body's immune
system can usually fight off infection in a couple of weeks. Typically, once you
have fought off the measles infection, you develop immunity (resistance) to it.
However, possible complications of measles include pneumonia, ear and eye
infections and croup (an infection of the lungs and throat).
More serious complications, such as inflammation of the brain
(encephalitis), are rarer but can be fatal. There are hundreds of thousands
of deaths worldwide from measles every year.
 Cagayan de Oro National High School
8th, 2nd st. Nazareth Cagayan de Oro City

A Research Paper on
MEASLES

Submitted by:
Abad, Gladys May J.
Abad, Zhaidelle Jade
Abanes, Rogel
IV- Aquarius

Submitted to:
Ms. Kim Sacote
T.L.E Teacher