Dr. Eddie Hooker is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services Administration at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is also an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Louisville and at Wright State University. His areas of expertise include emergency medicine, epidemiology, health-services management, and public health.
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Modified measles is seen in patients who, because they were unimmunized, received immune globulin after being exposed to a patient with measles. It is also seen occasionally in young infants who have limited immunity from their mothers. The immune globulin prolongs the time from exposure to onset of symptoms (incubation period). When the symptoms do occur, they are much milder than those seen with normal measles and tend to last a shorter period of time.
How is the diagnosis of measles made?
The diagnosis of suspected measles is mostly clinical, meaning that the appearance and history of the patient suggest the diagnosis. In a person with known exposure to someone with measles or travel to a foreign country, measles should always be considered when faced with a patient who has high fever and characteristic rash. Until the rash appears, the presence of Koplik's spots should help to suggest the diagnosis. Most cases of suspected measles in the United States turn out not to be measles (see below). It is recommended that the diagnosis be confirmed using a blood test for IgM, a type of antibody against the virus. If the IgM test is positive, viral cultures should be obtained. The state and local health department should be contacted immediately for any suspected case in order to follow the correct procedures for viral culture and isolation of the patient. Further information on laboratory testing of suspected cases is available from the CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/surv-manual/chpt07-measles.htm).
If it is not measles, what else could it be?
There are a large number of infectious diseases and other conditions that can cause some of the symptoms of measles. These include, but are not limited to,
dengue fever, drug rashes, enteroviral infections, fifth disease, German measles (rubella), Kawasaki disease, Rocky Mountain
spotted fever, roseola, and toxic shock syndrome. It is important that suspected cases be seen by a medical expert and appropriate laboratory tests be ordered.
What should I do if I have been exposed to measles?
People who have been appropriately vaccinated (or who have had the disease) and who are exposed to a patient with measles do not need to do anything. If an unimmunized person is exposed to a patient with measles, they should receive the vaccine as soon as possible. This may prevent the disease if given within 72 hours of exposure. Immune globulin may have some benefit if given within
six days of exposure. The CDC recommends that immune globulin be utilized for household contacts of infected people, immunocompromised people, and pregnant women. It is not recommended that immune globulin be utilized to control a measles outbreak.
The word "rash" means an outbreak of red bumps on the body. The way people use this term, "a rash" can refer to many different skin conditions. The most common of these are scaly patches of skin and red, itchy bumps or patches all over the place.
Pneumonia is inflammation of one or both lungs with consolidation. Pneumonia is frequently but not always due to infection. The infection may be bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic. Symptoms may include fever, chills, cough with sputum production, chest pain, and shortness of breath.
Most sore throats are caused by viruses or mechanical causes (such as mouth breathing) and can be treated successfully at home. However, a person should be seen by a health care professional if they have a sore throat that has a rapid onset, and is associated with a fever or tenderness of the front of the neck; a sore throat that causes the person to have difficulty swallowing (not just pain swallowing) or breathing; or if a sore throat lasts for more than a week.
Diarrhea is a change is the frequency and looseness of bowel movements. Cramping, abdominal pain, and the sensation of rectal urgency are all symptoms of diarrhea. Absorbents and anti-motility medications are used to treat diarrhea.
Lymph nodes help the body's immune system fight infections. Causes of swollen lymph nodes (glands) may include infection (viral, bacterial, fungal, parasites). Symptoms of swollen lymph nodes vary greatly. They can sometimes be tender, painful or disfiguring. The treatment of swollen lymph nodes depends upon the cause.
Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.). Fever is part of the body's own disease-fighting arsenal: rising body temperatures apparently are capable of killing off many disease- producing organisms.
Mumps is an acute viral illness caused by the mumps virus. Symptoms of mumps include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, and loss of appetite; followed by swelling of the salivary glands.
Encephalitis is a brain inflammation that causes sudden fever, vomiting, headache, light sensitivity, stiff neck and back, drowsiness, and irritability. Meningitis is an infection that causes inflammation of the meninges that surround the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms of meningitis include high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, and stiff neck.
German measles is a disease that's caused by a virus. Symptoms include rash and fever for two to three days. The MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine prevents this disease.
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