Name: Yashu Karki
Section: CNA
Disease
Measles
Causative agents
Measles is a viral infection which is caused by the rubeola virus. It is a negative-sense enveloped, single stranded RNA virus. It lies in the viral family Paramyxoviridae, genus Morbillivirus. It varies in size from 150-300 nanometers (def). The family Paramyxovirus consists of three genera among which Morbillivirus is one that belongs to measles virus. It lives in the mucous of the nose and throat of an infected person.
Epidemiology
Measles is highly communicable viral infection that occurs throughout the world. These are usually common but sometimes contagion occurs in winter and early spring and affects mostly infants and younger children then adults. It is an acute (def) viral illness that causes severe pneumonia (def), diarrhea (def), and encephalitis (def) and sometimes cause to death. Measles cases are identified either by laboratory test or by clinical. In the Northern Hemisphere the incidence likely to develop in winter where in tropical regions it is less observes. Measles affects people of all kinds of races and groups all over the world. And also the children who are not vaccinated are on high risk then those are vaccinated that include infants that are younger than one year old and the children entering the school at first time. About 30 million measles cases are reported annually all over the world where more cases are likely to come from African Countries. According to the World Health organization in 1998, the cases of measles that were reported were 1.6% in America, 8.2% in Europe, and 67.7% in Africa. About 1, 97000 measles caused death rates were reported worldwide in 2007.
Transmission
The measles virus resides in the mucus in the nose and throat of an infected person, so transmission generally occurs by sneezing and coughing. The symptom doesn’t appear immediately if any person exposed to it. The virus can remains active on infected surfaces for up to 2 hours, thus anyone who is not immunized have higher risk of getting it. Once contacted with the infected patient and if not wash hands with soap can also have a risk of spreading to the other person. When measles virus enters the body, it remains in the throat and back of the person and starts to multiply. After 8-12 days slowly the sign and symptom start to observe.
Signs and Symptoms
Measles is a communicable illness. The symptoms start to begin after 8-12 days on an average after being infected. When it enters the body it gradually multiplies. Infected person with measles shows some sign and symptoms such as high fever (105 F), tiredness, body aches, irritation, Red sclera and runny nose. After these symptoms appeared for four days the patient start to develop spots within the mouth which are look like grains of sand. Skin rashes also appear after five days when initial symptoms stop. When rashes start to begin it usually start with hair part and then slowly on face and neck. And after 3 days the rash will cover the whole body part. It is found that the 30% of measles cases are associated with complication that includes diarrhea (def), ear infection (def) and encephalitis (def).
Prevention and Treatment
Prevention is better than cure. It is very important to prevent from disease first then treat them later. A person who hasn’t been vaccinated if exposed to a patient with measles needs to be vaccinated. Generally two doses of live measles vaccine are recommended. The first is at the age of 15 months and the second is before starting the school. The simple thing that we can do is cover mouth while coughing and sneezing; it can be a better prevention as well. And also washing hands with soap frequently can save spreading measles.
The treatment of the measles starts with prevention. The best way to stop spreading from it is to get vaccinated as recommended with measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR). There is currently no cure for it; we just have to wait until its time is over. Generally, 10-14 days is its normal time. One that has infected with measles can be treated with following ways:-
Bibliography
Kaiser, Dr. Gary E. “Biology 230 Microbiology Lecture Guide.” Biology 230 Microbiology Lecture Guide. April 2010
Wikipedia” Measles” 10 April 2010 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measles
SP Chen, Selina. MD, MPH.”Measles” 10 April. 2010.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/966220-overview
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Program in brief: Measles Mortality Reduction and Regional Global Measles Elimination. April 10, 2010. http://www.cdc.gov/ncird/progbriefs/downloads/global-measles-elim.pdf.