How high is the risk of infection? | Symptoms of measles disease

How high is the risk of infection?

The risk of infection with measles is extremely high. The measles virus is transmitted via droplets and thus via the air. The airborne contagiousness can be up to 100 percent.

Since the infectiousness already exists before the outbreak of the typical exanthema, the transmission can also occur in contact with apparently healthy people. Due to the high level of contagiousness, everyone should be vaccinated against measles. This is also important to protect children who are not yet of vaccinateable age from the infection.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is based on the typical clinical picture and on the detection of antibodies in the blood. This blood test is advisable as the diagnosis based on the clinical picture may be erroneous. This is because the disease is becoming increasingly rare and there are also many untypical courses that can lead to false diagnoses.

Therapy

There is no therapy that fights the cause of measles. The disease is only treated symptomatically. This means that drugs are used to relieve the symptoms without fighting the cause.

Prophylaxis

Prophylactically, a double vaccination offers lifelong protection against measles. The vaccination is recommended for infants between 11 and 14 months of age, but can also be used without any problems in adults.