Measles is one of the most contagious diseases known today. How does infection occur, what are the symptoms of the disease, how dangerous is measles and is there a treatment, says the director of laboratory medicine of the LabQuest laboratory, PhD Lyubov Stankevich.
What is measles
Experts agree that it is impossible to protect yourself from measles without immunity, since we are dealing with a virus that has amazing properties. On the one hand, it is rather unstable: it does not live in the environment for more than two hours. But in these two hours, it is one hundred percent likely to infect everyone who has not previously had measles and has not been vaccinated. Everyone who is in the same building with the sick person, even not in the same room, can be infected.
The infectiousness index of the measles virus, the absolute champion among all viruses, according to some sources, is up to 20 people from one infected person. For comparison: a carrier of the influenza virus can infect only 1.4-4 people, a rubella patient – 5-7 people.
How measles is transmitted
The measles virus has ideal tools for penetrating the human body: thanks to special proteins on the surface, it easily binds to epithelial cells of the mucous membranes of the skin and gives signals to immune cells to suspend the immune response and not react to the virus. That is why we have neither a chance to defend ourselves, nor a chance to quickly respond to the challenge of the virus.
The virus is transmitted by direct contact or airborne droplets. It is easy to get measles even with fleeting contact in crowded places and groups: kindergartens, educational institutions, sports clubs. Measles is more common in adults, who account for almost 80% of all cases. In adulthood, measles is difficult to tolerate.
Why is measles dangerous?
The first to meet the virus in our body is the epithelium of the respiratory tract. There, the virus actively multiplies, its particles enter the bloodstream, and then into the central nervous system. By infecting nerve cells, the measles virus can cause the development of complications such as encephalitis, meningoencephalitis (damage to the brain and spinal cord and its membranes). Quite often among the complications of measles pneumonia or bronchitis occurs. But the most dangerous consequences of the disease are blindness, deafness, damage to the nervous liver and kidneys. A fatal outcome is also possible.
measles symptoms
The first clinical symptoms do not have specific manifestations: severe fever – up to 40.5 ° C, severe intoxication syndrome, catarrhal manifestations of the mucous membranes of the oropharynx, laryngitis and barking cough, lacrimation, photophobia. This is a classic manifestation of the measles virus, but when faced with such manifestations, it is difficult to distinguish one hundred percent from other acute respiratory viral infections, tonsillitis or allergic reactions. In some cases, measles may have an atypical course, an erased clinical picture. In addition, a number of viral infections, manifested by skin syndrome, chickenpox, rubella, can also be mistaken for measles.
Measles has a characteristic symptom – the appearance on the buccal mucosa in the mouth in the region of the molars of small whitish spots surrounded by a narrow red border. These are the so-called Belsky-Filatov-Koplik spots. A measles rash (exanthema) appears on the fourth or fifth day of illness, first on the face, neck, behind the ears, the next day on the trunk and then the rash covers the extensor surfaces of the arms and legs, including fingers. The rash consists of small papules surrounded by a patch and prone to confluence.
How many people get measles
The incubation period of the disease lasts from 9 to 17 days. The carrier of the virus is especially dangerous in the last two days of the incubation period, before the rash appears and in the first four days of the rash. It is this period, when the patient actively sheds the virus, when it is most contagious, that it is rather difficult to diagnose measles and suspect it. The total duration of the infectious period lasts 8-10 days. On the fifth day after the onset of the rash, the patient is no longer contagious. The duration of the disease can take from a week to 18 days. After recovery, a stable immunity to the disease is formed.
Prevention and treatment of crusts
In order not to get sick, it is worth checking the level of protective antibodies – donate blood to determine antibodies to the measles virus, even if you have ever been ill or have been vaccinated earlier. Antibodies are not always produced after vaccination. In the absence of antibodies, it is necessary to get vaccinated. Double vaccination is the most reliable prevention of infection.
If you find suspicious symptoms, you do not need to engage in self-diagnosis and self-treatment. You should stay at home, isolate yourself from family members and call a doctor immediately to diagnose and assess the severity of the condition – hospitalization may be required. Treatment is mainly aimed at relieving the symptoms of the disease and early prevention of complications. There are no specific medications for the treatment of measles.
2023-06-11 07:00:00
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