MMR vaccines are available at our North and South Oakland Health Centers.
What is measles?
Measles (also called rubeola) is a highly contagious virus that can cause serious health complications, especially in children younger than 5 years old, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems. About 1 in 5 people in the U.S. who get measles will be hospitalized.
Anyone who is not protected against measles is at risk. You have immunity through vaccinations or if you had measles and recovered. The best protection if you do not have immunity is getting two doses of the MMR vaccine.
The virus that causes measles lives in the nose and throat mucus of an infected person. It can spread to others through coughing and sneezing.
Measles virus can live for up to two hours in an airspace after an infected person leaves an area; if other people breathe the contaminated air or touch the infected surfaces and then touch their eyes, noses, or mouths, they can become infected. More than 90% of people who have not been vaccinated or have not had measles will develop measles after being exposed.
Symptoms usually begin 7-14 days after exposure but can appear as long as 21 days after exposure, and may include:
Infected people can spread measles to others from four days before through four days after the rash appears.
Measles can be prevented with the MMR vaccine. The vaccine protects against three diseases: measles, mumps, and rubella.
The MMR vaccine is safe and effective. It consists of two doses and is about 97% effective in preventing measles and protecting against it for life.
Health care providers recommend that children receive the MMR vaccine between 12 and 15 months of age, and again between 4 and 6 years of age — before entering school. Individuals born before 1957 have "presumptive immunity" which means they've mostly likely had measles when they were a child and are immune to disease.
If you don't have proof of immunity or record of 2 MMR vaccinations, talk to your health care provider.
People develop immunity after the body develops antibodies to an infectious disease. The antibodies will then monitor the body and alert the immune system if the germ appears again. Active immunity can happen in different ways.
Vitamin A will not prevent or cure measles. Vitamin A may be given under the supervision of a health care provider to someone diagnosed with measles to help with some of the complications of the disease. However, too much Vitamin A can lead to toxicity.
All healthcare providers should consider posting signage at every entrance stating to wear a mask if symptomatic during a measles outbreak. Have a person screen incoming patients and visitors for symptoms, and ask people if they were in the areas of any confirmed exposures. Please require clients and visitors to wear masks at the first sign of a measles case.
Clinicians should be vigilant for the possibility of additional measles cases after known exposures, and are advised to take the following precautions in assessing patients with significant fever, cough, coryza, and/or conjunctivitis and presenting with a macular/papular body rash:
The average incubation period for measles is 10-12 days to earliest symptoms, and typically 14 days to the start of the rash. The incubation period may range up to 21 days.
Clinical staff and office workers should have presumptive evidence of immunity to measles according to the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Measles vaccination is a part of routine childhood immunization in the U.S. In addition to vaccination of children, any adult born in 1957 or later is advised to be vaccinated against measles if they are uncertain of their measles immunity status. Measles can spread readily in insufficiently vaccinated communities.
Measles is often brought into the United States by unvaccinated people who get infected in other countries or areas where outbreaks are occurring. The disease can spread when it reaches communities in the U.S. where groups of people are unvaccinated, which can cause outbreaks. The majority of people who get measles are unvaccinated.
Measles remains a common disease in many parts of the world, including areas in Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa.
Outbreaks of measles have been ongoing within the U.S.