Disease overview

Viral

Measles

麻疹

Evidence-backed informationEN 7/7 applicable sections · ZH 7/7 applicable sectionsUpdated Sep 3, 2026

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease caused by the measles virus (MeV), historically responsible for millions of deaths annually before widespread vaccination ^[1]^[2]^[3]. Routine measles vaccination for children, combined with mass immunization campaigns in countries with low routine coverage, are key public health strategies to reduce global measles deaths, with the measles vaccine having been in use since the 1960s and being considered safe, effective, and inexpensive ^[3]^[4].

Read the full clinical and epidemiological profile8

Definition

Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable infectious disease caused by the measles virus, a virus that infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body ^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5].

Clinical features

Symptoms usually develop 7–14 days after exposure to the virus and last 7–10 days ^[1]^[2]. Initial symptoms typically include high fever (often greater than 40 °C), cough, runny nose, and inflamed or bloodshot eyes ^[2]. Small white spots known as Koplik's spots may form inside the mouth two or three days after the start of symptoms ^[2]. A red, flat or maculopapular rash, which usually starts on the face and then spreads to the rest of the body, typically begins three to five days after the start of symptoms ^[1]^[2]^[4]. Complications include diarrhea, middle ear infection, pneumonia, and seizures ^[2]^[4]^[5]. Measles causes immunosuppression, and severe sequelae can include pneumonia, gastroenteritis, blindness, measles inclusion body encephalitis, and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis ^[4].

Epidemiology

Prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963, major epidemics occurred approximately every two to three years and caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year ^[1]. With the introduction of vaccination programs, incidence was progressively reduced, reaching a low of 159,000 laboratory-confirmed cases in 2020, although some resurgence has occurred subsequently ^[2]. Due to regional under-reporting in areas with poor health systems, the estimated number of annual infections remains at approximately 10 million ^[2]. An estimated 95,000 people died from measles in 2024 – mostly children under the age of five years, despite the availability of a safe and cost-effective vaccine ^[1]. Accelerated immunization activities successfully prevented an estimated 59 million deaths between 2000 and 2024 ^[1].

Transmission

Measles is one of the world's most contagious diseases, spread by contact with infected nasal or throat secretions, coughing, sneezing, or breathing air that was breathed by someone with measles ^[1]^[2]^[5]. The virus remains active and contagious in the air or on infected surfaces for up to two hours ^[1]. It is extremely contagious: nine out of ten non-immune people sharing living space with an infected person will be infected ^[2]. People are infectious to others from four days before to four days after the onset of the rash ^[1]^[2].

Risk groups

Any non-immune person (not vaccinated or vaccinated but did not develop immunity) can become infected ^[1]. Unvaccinated young children and pregnant persons are at highest risk of severe measles complications ^[1]. Measles is still common, particularly in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and the overwhelming majority of measles deaths occur in countries with low per capita incomes or weak health infrastructures ^[1].

Prevention

Being vaccinated is the best way to prevent getting sick with measles or spreading it to other people; the measles vaccine has been in use since the 1960s and is safe, effective, and inexpensive ^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]. Routine measles vaccination for children, combined with mass immunization campaigns in countries with low routine coverage, are key public health strategies to reduce global measles deaths, and accelerated immunization activities successfully prevented an estimated 59 million deaths between 2000 and 2024 ^[1]^[3]^[5]. Urgent efforts are needed to increase stagnating global coverage with two doses of measles vaccine through advocacy, education, and the strengthening of routine immunisation systems ^[5].

Surveillance note

With the introduction of vaccination programs, incidence of measles was progressively reduced over the following decades, with laboratory confirmed cases reaching a low point of 159,000 in 2020, although there has been some resurgence subsequently ^[2]. All six WHO regions have set goals to eliminate endemic transmission of MeV by achieving and maintaining high levels of vaccination coverage accompanied by a sensitive surveillance system ^[2]. Case confirmation depends on clinical presentation and results of laboratory tests, including the detection of anti-MeV IgM antibodies and/or viral RNA ^[2]. GlobalID source-data note: Finland THL source code 170 is displayed in the upstream English dimension as ‘Cinderella disease’. The official Finnish label is ‘Tuhkarokko’, meaning measles; this is an upstream translation error, not a mapping to a different disease.

References

1World Health Organization. Measles [Internet]. cited 3 Sept 2026.Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/measles
2Wikipedia contributors. Measles - Wikipedia [Internet]. Wikipedia. cited 3 Sept 2026.Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measles
3World Health Organization. Measles [Internet]. cited 3 Sept 2026.Available from: https://www.who.int/health-topics/measles
4Rota PA et al. Measles. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2016 Jul 14. PMID: 27411684. doi: 10.1038/nrdp.2016.49.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27411684/
5Moss WJ et al. Measles. Lancet. 2017 Dec 2. PMID: 28673424. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31463-0.PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28673424/

Coding Register

ICD-10: B05
ICD-11: KA61

Key Statistics

Total cases: 2.4M
Total deaths: 162
Peak month: 2010-05
Coverage: 42 reporting countries · 1924-01-01 → 2026-09-01

Trends by reporting country

Monthly patterns over time

Research Radar

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Showing 5 of 44 related publications.

Literature links are provided for discovery and do not alter or validate the surveillance series above.

Rows8,682

Updated2026-09-01

Coverage—

Partitions21

Source43 series · 3,402 observations

Official sourcesAuthority, cadence, notes120

monthlyofficial_monthly_csv

AGES Radar monthly national source. Internal ingestion retains native categories; public release is disabled pending licence review.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian national notifiable diseases surveillance dashboard.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Australian Capital Territory, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for New South Wales, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Northern Territory, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Queensland, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for South Australia, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Tasmania, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Victoria, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Australian NINDSS monthly state/territory notifications for Western Australia, kept separate from the Australia national aggregate.

annualofficial_ecdc_rest_aggregate

Belgium annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.

annualofficial_ecdc_rest_aggregate

Bulgaria annual Member-State reported case counts from the ECDC Surveillance Atlas. Missing topic/year cells remain unknown and published zeroes are preserved. Data provided by ECDC based on data reported by EU/EEA Member States.

ANNUALweb

Canada is the national jurisdiction; subdivision feeds are registered separately.

monthlymicrosoft_bi

Ontario-level current-year preliminary monthly case counts from Public Health Ontario's IDTO report.

weeklyrest_api

Switzerland FOPH/BAG IDD mandatory reporting API normalized to national case rows. Monthly series may use the dashboard CHFL aggregate where CH-only monthly series are not exposed.

MONTHLYweb

Monthly notifiable infectious disease reports published by China CDC.

MONTHLYweb

Official China public health bulletin and query portal.

MONTHLYweb

Biomedical literature discovery feed used as supplementary context.