• Symptoms may include high fever, cough, runny nose, red watery eyes, and a rash.  The rash usually appears 3 to 5 days after symptoms begin.  The rash usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline and spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet.
• If you think you or your child has measles, stay home, and call your health care provider BEFORE seeking medical attention.

• Anyone who has not already had measles or has not received the measles vaccine can get the disease.
• Measles is common in many parts of the world and can be brought into the United States by unvaccinated travelers who get measles while travelling.

• A health care provider will observe symptoms and will perform lab testing to find out if a person is infected with measles.
• Public health will conduct interviews with individuals suspected of having measles to gather detailed information about their health history, symptoms, and potential exposures.

• Measles can cause serious health complications, especially for babies and young children. There is no cure for measles.
• Measles complications include ear infections, diarrhea, pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain).
• Nearly 1 to 3 of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles will die.
• Measles is also dangerous for pregnant women.  Measles infection can cause miscarriage, pre-mature birth, or a low-birth-weight baby. 

• Measles is very contagious. It spreads through the air when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes.
• People can also become sick if they come in contact with the mucus or saliva (spit) from an infected person.
• You can get measles just by being in a room where a person with measles has been because the virus can live on infected surfaces and in the air for up to two hours.
• Ninety percent of people with close contact with an infected person will get measles if they are not vaccinated.

• A person infected with measles can spread the disease before showing symptoms.
• Anyone who suspects they've been exposed to someone with measles is urged to CALL a health care provider BEFORE going to a medical office or emergency department. A person infected with measles can spread the disease before showing symptoms; therefore, special arrangements need to be made when you visit your doctor or emergency department to help protect others from getting sick.

If you think you've been exposed to measles, click here.

• There is no cure for measles, only supportive treatment (bed rest, fluids and fever reduction). 
• As part of supportive management, children in the U.S. with severe measles, such as those who are hospitalized, should be managed with vitamin A under the supervision of a health care provider.

• The only way to protect yourself, your children, and your community against measles is with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
• The MMR vaccine is safe and effective. Two doses of MMR vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing measles; one dose is about 93% effective.
• Talk to your health care provider about the MMR vaccine, especially if you plan on traveling internationally.
• Vitamins do not prevent against measles. [View PDF]

• CDC Measles Website