What is measles and what are the symptoms?

Yahoo

13-07-2025

A child has reportedly died in Liverpool after contracting measles, prompting renewed calls for parents to vaccinate their children.
The Sunday Times reported that the child was ill with measles and other health problems and was receiving treatment at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
The hospital released a statement voicing concerns about a growing number of children and young people contracting measles, which is highly contagious and can cause serious health issues.
While it said it will not comment on individual cases, the Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust said: 'We are concerned about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting measles. Measles is a highly contagious viral illness which can cause children to be seriously unwell, requiring hospital treatment, and in rare cases, death.
'The number of children being treated at Alder Hey for effects and complications of measles is increasing (we have treated 17 since June)."
It added: 'We can prevent people, including children, from contracting measles through vaccination. Please protect yourself and vulnerable children and young people by ensuring you are fully vaccinated.'
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander also encouraged parents to take up any offer of the MMR vaccine in order to prevent children from contracting measles.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus.
It spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes and can affect anyone, but is most common in children. It can cause serious problems in some people, and even death.
Measles infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body.
According to the NHS website, it usually starts with cold-like symptoms, followed by a rash a few days later.
Initial symptoms include: a high temperature; a runny or blocked nose; sneezing; a cough and red, sore, watery eyes. Some people might also get small white spots inside the cheeks and on the back of the lips.
A rash usually appears a few days later, starting on the face and behind the ears before spreading to the rest of the body.
The WHO said rash begins about seven to 18 days after exposure, usually on the face and upper neck, spreafing over about three days, eventually to the hands and feet, and usually lasting five to six days before fading.
The spots of the measles rash are sometimes raised and join together to form blotchy patches, the NHS says, and are not usually itchy.
NHS advice is to make and urgent GP appointment or call 111 if you think you have measles. It adds to call your GP surgery before you go in as measles can spread easily and they may suggest talking over the phone.
People are also advised to stay off nursery, school or work for at least four days from when the rash first appears, and to try to avoid close contact with babies and anyone who is pregnant or has a weakened immune system.
The NHS says symptoms usually start to get better in about a week, and while there is no specific antiviral treatment, there are things you can do to help ease the symptoms and reduce the risk of spreading the infection.
These include: resting and drinking plenty of fluids; taking paracetamol or ibuprofen for a high temperature; and using cotton wool soaked in warm water to gently remove any crusts from eyes.
Measles can lead to complications if it spreads to other parts of the body such as the lungs or brain, the NHS advises.
Complications - which are rare but can be more of a risk for people such as babies and those with weakened immune systems - can include: pneumonia, meningitis, blindness or seizures.
If someone gets measles when they are pregnant, it can also harm their baby and potentially cause miscarriage or stillbirth, premature birth or a baby having a low birthweight.
Alder Hey's statement comes amid an ongoing debate around vaccination, with a Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) report earlier this month saying that uptake of vaccines in the UK has stalled over the last decade, and is declining in many cases.
The report said that no routine childhood vaccination had met the target for 95% coverage since 2021, putting children at risk of catching illnesses such as measles, meningitis and whooping cough.
Experts have also voiced concerns around vaccine take-up, with Professor Helen Bedford, professor of children's health at UCL (University College London), telling PA Media: 'It is hugely concerning but not at all surprising that we are continuing to see outbreaks of measles, with very sadly news that a child in Merseyside has died from the infection.
'To stop outbreaks of this highly infectious disease we need to have sustained 95% uptake of two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, but uptake has been lower than this for some years.
'In England only 84% of five-year-old children have had the two doses and in some parts of the country, including Liverpool and parts of London, uptake is much lower.'
Dr David Elliman, honorary senior associate professor at the same university, said uptake of MMR vaccine had been falling around the world and in the USA there had been three deaths in the current outbreak.
According to the WHO, in 2023 74% of children received both doses of the measles vaccine, and about 83% of the world's children received one dose of measles vaccine by their first birthday. Two doses of the vaccine are recommended to ensure immunity and prevent outbreaks.
It said around 22 million infants missed at least one dose of measles vaccine through routine vaccination in 2023.
Warning over measles risk during school holidays (Telegraph)
Europe had worst measles outbreak since 1997 – new data (The Conversation)
'If measles cases are such a concern why can't I get a vaccination for my child?' (Yahoo News)