Measles is one of the most contagious respiratory diseases in the world that has the potential to be life-threatening. It is caused by a virus and is still common in many countries.

There are FDA-approved vaccines that are proven both safe and effective, providing lasting protection against measles. Most people who get the recommended two doses of the vaccine will never get sick with measles, even if they’re exposed to the virus.

Still, outbreaks continue to occur in the US. A key reason for this is that people who are not vaccinated against measles, and are exposed to the virus abroad, bring it into the US. Another reason is the spread of measles in communities that include unvaccinated individuals.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), before the US measles vaccination programme started in 1963, three to four million people nationwide got measles each year. Of those, 400 to 500 people died, 48,000 were hospitalised, and 1,000 developed encephalitis (swelling of the brain) because of measles. In the US, widespread use of the vaccine has led to a 99 per cent reduction in measles cases compared with before the vaccination programme began.

The measles virus is adept at finding vulnerable people and infecting them. Particularly at risk are people who cannot get vaccinated because they are too young or have certain health conditions. After an infected person leaves a location, the virus can remain in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours and infect others. Measles spreads so easily that if one person has it, 90 per cent of the people close to that person who are not vaccinated or otherwise immune will also become infected.

Source: United States Food and Drug Administration

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