Measles: signs and symptoms
Learn more about what the measles virus is and how measles spreads
September 16, 2024
What is measles?
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can affect people of all ages but is most common in children. Measles spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Symptoms appear 10 to 14 days after contact with the virus.
Common measles symptoms include:
High fever
(may spike to more than 40°C)
Cough
Runny nose
Red, watery eyes
(conjunctivitis)
Spots in mouth
(2-3 days after symptoms begin)
Rash
(3-5 days after symptoms begin)
How measles spreads
The measles virus can live for up to two hours in an airspace after an infected person leaves an area.
If one person has measles, up to 90% of unvaccinated people close to that person will also become infected.
Infected people can spread measles to others four days before through four days after the rash appears.
After being exposed to the measles virus, it can incubate for up to 21 days.
Measles can cause health complications. Common complications include ear infections and diarrhea. Serious complications include pneumonia and encephalitis (an inflammation of the brain). Measles may impact the daily lives of patients and their caretakers (e.g., can result in lost work time or missed school days).
Measles can be serious and lead to complications
- Measles can cause serious health complications, affecting several organ systems such as ears, eyes leading to blindness, gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system including inflammation of the brain and death.
- Approximately 30% of reported measles cases have one or more complications, such as encephalitis or pneumonia.
- Each day, approximately 373 people die globally from measles-related complications, that equates to more than 15 deaths every hour as of 2023.
Understanding measles outbreaks
In 2022, there were an estimated 136,000 measles deaths globally, mostly among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under the age of 5 years despite the availability of a safe and cost-effective vaccine.
In 2022, 43% more people died from measles worldwide than in 2021. The spread and scale of global measles disease incidence rose by 18% with more than 9.2 million cases recorded.
The European region experienced a rise in measles cases in 2023 with over 30,000 cases reported by 75% of countries (40 out of 53), including 21,000 hospitalizations.
Natural disaster and/or conflict can put countries at greater risk for deadly measles outbreaks by damaging health infrastructure, interrupting health services and placing people in overcrowded residential camps.
In 2023, 321,582 cases of measles were reported globally, an 88% increase from 2022.
The proportion of children receiving a first dose of measles vaccine was 83% in 2023, well below the 2019 level of 86%.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to setbacks in surveillance and immunization efforts. Measles is often the first disease to resurge when pediatric vaccination rates drop, placing communities at heightened risk for preventable measles outbreaks.
Measles is still common in many parts of the world, and travelers with measles can bring the disease to countries that have largely eliminated it. Measles can spread rapidly.
