The way of spreading measles

Measles spreads rapidly through the respiratory tract, especially when carriers carry sneezes or coughs that shoot saliva into the air, healthy people breathe in very easily.

Doctor Truong Huu Khanh (Head of Infection, Children's Hospital 1, Ho Chi Minh City) said that measles is a viral disease, often causing complications in young children. The disease is common in people who are not immune because they have not been fully vaccinated and have not had any measles, very rarely in people who have been vaccinated.

Measles spreads very quickly, especially in cases where the carrier is sneezing or coughing, spitting saliva droplets into the air, and the healthy person inhaling through the mouth or nose will be infected. The patient spreads the virus to the surrounding environment from the incubation period (a few days before the rash) and lasts until 5-7 days after the rash appears.

Besides, people who take care of measles patients or exposed to germs without handwashing bacteria can also spread the virus to others.

Measles is particularly contagious and becomes epidemic without timely isolation of patients. In the family, if one person is ill, the majority of those who are not immune will be infected. Particularly for babies who have acquired immune antibodies from the mother transmitted through the placenta. This antibody can last for 4 to 6 months, even many studies show that antibodies from the mother can protect children until the 9th month after birth. Therefore, children rarely get sick during this period. This is why the health sector recommends immunization against measles for children from 9 months to 12 months old.

Symptoms of the disease

Measles usually lasts 7–10 days. Children often have a fever of 39-40 degrees C, high cough, runny nose, red eyes, stop eating. Adults and older children symptoms will be more loud, accompanied by headache, muscle pain.

The rash appears after 4–5 days of fever and cough. The board has a circle or oval shape, about 1-2 mm in diameter, the notes can be combined into pieces or stand alone. The board grows in order from the back of the ear, face, body and spreads down to the feet. After the rash develops, the patient has a cough and high fever until the rash spreads to the feet. After that, the fever will go down, the rash will fly in the order of growth and leave skin marks that last for weeks.

Children with this condition often have complications such as pneumonia, laryngitis, bloody stools, otitis media that cause ear discharge and especially malnutrition, long-term stunting. Adults and older children with measles may develop encephalitis, myocarditis. Pregnant women with measles can cause miscarriage or birth defects.

A child with measles is being treated at Pediatrics Department, Bach Mai Hospital.(Photo: N.Phuong)

Things to do when detecting people with measles

If children see persistent cough, fever is 39-40 degrees continuously for 2 days, it is more likely that the baby has measles. This disease can be treated at home by giving children a fever-reducing medicine (if there is a fever), a cough reliever. Give your child plenty of water, eat easily digested liquid foods. If you need to monitor your child's breathing, if you have fast, rapid breathing or with convulsions, you must bring them to the local health facility to monitor.

Need to increase adequate nutrition for children to prevent malnutrition; enhance oral hygiene, personal hygiene to avoid opportunistic diseases. Children with or suspected of being infected with measles must be isolated, absent from school and not in a crowded place to avoid spreading to the community.

Misconceptions should be avoided

1. When children see measles, adults often apply all measures to abstain from wind, abstain from water by covering children, not cleaning the body. This is wrong. Dr. Khanh advises not to do so because when covered will make a child unable to bring down a fever, there will be convulsions due to a high fever. Failure to clean the body will make the child uncomfortable, easy skin infections and pneumonia complications. It should be noted that children should not be too cold.
2. Abstaining from eating for fear of indigestion is also a misconception . Doctors advise against fasting because children with typhus often have anorexia, if fasting, it is easy to become malnourished and be prone to complications. When children get sick, they need to force children to eat more than usual, eat many meals, eat easily digested foods.
3. Many families with measles children do not pay attention to sanitation, thus making the infection worse. As recommended, when someone is diagnosed with measles, the family should isolate and clean the living environment and keep the area well-ventilated.
4. Thinking that measles is spread through skin contact in rashes. In fact, this disease is mainly transmitted through the respiratory tract. When a patient coughs, sneezes, talks, shoots secretions of fluid and diffuses in the air, a healthy person inhales and becomes infected. In addition, people who take care of measles patients or who are exposed to germs without clean hand sanitizers can also spread the virus to others. Very few cases of indirect transmission through skin contact.
5. Too subjective, no vaccination for young children: Many parents are afraid of refusing or fear of complications without vaccinating their children from after 9 months of age to 1 year old. As noted, most cases of sick children have not been vaccinated.
6. Too pessimistic about the disease: Although being in the epidemic season, measles is considered not too dangerous, most can be cured. As noted at the Children's Hospital 1 every day there are about 40-60 children hospitalized for measles treatment. Most patients are cured in a short time, no case of death.
7. Applying unproven therapeutic methods: When children get sick, many parents are afraid to use word-of-mouth folk remedies using grass, plants, flowers and leaves that have not been proved to be effective. fruits are at risk of infection, poisoning is very likely to occur.

How to prevent

1. Isolate, do not contact people who are sick or suspected of being infected.
2. Immunizations for children from 9 months of age and booster at 18 months of age.
3. Enhance personal hygiene to prevent diseases for yourself and others.
4. Where there are concentrated outbreaks, high-risk children should be vaccinated against measles as recommended by local health authorities.
5. Wash your hands often with antibacterial soap, especially before contacting your child.