THE CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MEASLES: A REVIEW

Friday, 20th of March 2015

 

 

THE CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF MEASLES: A REVIEW

1. Walter A. Orenstein, Section Editor, Robert T. Perry1 and Neal A. Halsey2

+ Author Affiliations

1. ¹National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia
2. ²Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland

1. Reprints or correspondence: Dr. Neal Halsey Dept. of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, w5515, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205 (nhalsey@jhsph.edu).

Abstract below; full text, with figures, is at http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/189/Supplement_1/S4.full

Forty years after effective vaccines were licensed, measles continues to cause death and severe disease in children worldwide. Complications from measles can occur in almost every organ system. Pneumonia, croup, and encephalitis are common causes of death; encephalitis is the most common cause of long-term sequelae. Measles remains a common cause of blindness in developing countries. Complication rates are higher in those <5 and >20 years old, although croup and otitis media are more common in those <2 years old and encephalitis in older children and adults. Complication rates are increased by immune deficiency disorders, malnutrition, vitamin A deficiency, intense exposures to measles, and lack of previous measles vaccination. Case-fatality rates have decreased with improvements in socioeconomic status in many countries but remain high in developing countries.

Footnotes

• N.H. has research grants from Glaxo SmithKline (a manufacturer of measles vaccine) for studies of Haemophilus Influenzae type b and Lyme disease vaccines.
• Financial support: CDC cooperative agreement for the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Network.

• © 2004 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America

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