Measles

Measles is an infectious disease of humans caused by measles virus (MeV) ^[2]. It is described as a highly contagious, highly transmissible systemic viral infection ^[1][3]. The disease is classified here as viral and is identified in the provided metadata as ICD-10 B05 and ICD-11 KA61, but further source-backed characterization beyond this etiologic definition is not available from the supplied snippets.

Illness typically begins with fever, cough, coryza, and conjunctivitis, followed by a characteristic or maculopapular rash ^[1][2]. The available sources indicate that MeV causes immunosuppression and that complications can affect most organ systems ^[2][1]. Severe sequelae reported in the snippets include pneumonia, gastroenteritis, blindness, measles inclusion body encephalitis, and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis ^[2]. Pneumonia is identified as accounting for most measles-associated morbidity and mortality, and secondary infections are noted as a major contributor to substantial mortality ^[1][3].

Before effective vaccination, virtually everyone experienced measles during childhood, and the disease continues to circulate endemically in many parts of the world ^[2]. The sources state that measles remains a considerable cause of childhood mortality worldwide and is still responsible for more than 100,000 deaths each year, although this is far lower than the more than 2 million annual deaths reported before widespread vaccine use ^[1][2]. Recent commentary notes increasing cases worldwide where vaccine delivery has lapsed, and the major cause of failure to control measles is failure to vaccinate ^[3]. The supplied material also states that measles has no animal reservoir and that elimination efforts are being pursued across WHO regions, but more granular geographic burden estimates are not available in the provided snippets ^[2].

Measles virus is transmitted by the respiratory route ^[1]. The supplied sources do not provide additional source-backed detail on duration of infectiousness, environmental persistence, or specific exposure settings, so those elements are not stated here. The disease’s highly transmissible nature is emphasized in the sources, consistent with the need for very high vaccination coverage to interrupt spread ^[1][3].

The supplied sources most clearly identify children as an important affected group, since measles remains a considerable cause of childhood mortality worldwide and historically nearly everyone acquired it during childhood before effective vaccination ^[2]. Beyond this, source-backed detail on other specific high-risk populations is not yet available in the provided snippets. The material does indicate greater mortality in settings with lower resources and in contexts where vaccination coverage is inadequate ^[2][3].

Measles is best prevented through vaccination, and all current measles vaccines described in the sources contain a live attenuated strain of measles virus ^[1][2]. The provided material emphasizes the need to strengthen routine immunisation systems, improve two-dose coverage, and maintain sensitive surveillance as part of elimination efforts ^[1][2]. It also notes that combined measles-rubella vaccines can support elimination of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome, but source-backed detail on specific schedules is not available in the supplied snippets ^[1].

In surveillance use, measles should be read as a vaccine-preventable viral infection with strong outbreak potential when immunisation coverage is incomplete or delivery lapses ^[1][3]. The sources indicate that case confirmation relies on clinical presentation together with laboratory testing, including anti-MeV IgM and/or viral RNA, but no further operational case-definition detail is provided in the supplied material ^[2]. Monitoring should therefore pay attention to both suspected case detection and vaccination system performance, because elimination goals depend on high coverage and sensitive surveillance ^[2].

1. 1 Moss 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/
2. 2 Rota 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/
3. 3 Moss WJ et al. What's going on with measles? J Virol. 2024 Aug 20. PMID: 39041786. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00758-24. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39041786/
4. 4 measles: Measles Epidemiological Models. CRAN: Contributed Packages. 2026. doi: 10.32614/cran.package.measles. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32614/cran.package.measles
5. 5 Measles and Measles Vaccination. JAMA Pediatrics. 2016. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.1787. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.1787
6. 6 Measles and Measles Vaccination. BMJ. 1964. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5404.311-b. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.2.5404.311-b

ICD-10

B05

ICD-11

KA61

Total cases

258K

Total deaths

162

Peak month

2010-05

Coverage

9 reporting countries · 2000-01-01 → 2019-11-09