What is measles?

In news– Mumbai has witnessed an outbreak of measles recently.

About measles-

Measles or as it is called ‘khasra’, is a highly contagious viral disease which affects mostly children.
It is one of the leading causes of death and disability among young children.
There is no specific treatment for measles but there is a vaccine to stay protected from the disease, which is both safe as well as cost effective.
Measles spreads by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact or direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions.
Death due to measles are caused by the complications associated with the disease like blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea and pneumonia.
The condition of an infected child turns severe in cases of poor nourishment, Vitamin A deficiency and if the child is immunocompromised.
Symptoms appear around 10 to 14 days after exposure to the virus. The main symptoms are fever, dry cough, running nose, sore throat and rash.
The rashes look like small red spots which remain slightly raised and give the skin a splotchy red appearance. The face of the rash breaks out first. Within days, it spreads to the rest of the body.
The WHO recommends immunization for all children with two doses of measles vaccine, either alone, or in a measles-rubella (MR) or measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) combination.
As per the guidance of National Health Mission, in India, measles vaccination is given under the Universal Immunisation Programme at 9-12 months of age and the second dose at 16-24 months of age.