Caitlin Whyte (Host): Doctor, to start us off, can you tell us what are measles and what should people be looking out for?

Kevin Reyburn, MD: Measles is a viral illness, so therefore antibiotics do not help to treat it, and there are no antiviral medications that have been made to treat measles. It is a viral illness that begins with a fever, runny nose, red eyes, look a lot like pink eye. And then you'll get spots on the inside of the mouth that are kind white and along the lower gum line.

And the first three days of the illness can look a lot like any other viral illness that you get such as influenza or RSV, and therefore it's difficult to differentiate until the rash appears. The rash, a lot of times, appears around day four of the illness, and it starts at the hairline and then extends downward onto the trunk.

And it has a typical pink macular, which means kinda raised big bumps, and then they a lot of times fuse together. So it looks like you just have a big red patch on your skin.

Host: So how do you get them and how contagious are they?

Kevin Reyburn, MD: Measles are one of the most contagious illnesses that we know of, and it is transmitted through the air. Therefore, if you are in a room with 10 people and one of the persons in the room has measles, then nine out of those 10 people in that room will contract measles if they are susceptible to the illness.

It also can be passed through just contact and droplets. It is difficult to prevent the spread of measles due to the fact that it's transmitted through the air, and you can get measles by going into a room that somebody was in previously that had measles if you go in afterwards and they've already left.

Host: What should someone do if they think that they have measles?

Kevin Reyburn, MD: If you think you have measles, the first thing you want to do is to quarantine yourself as long as you're not severely sick with the illness, which means stay away from others and stay home. The illness itself will self resolve. And so as long as you don't develop pneumonia or infection in the brain called encephalitis, or other complications such as dehydration, because you develop diarrhea also with this illness; then you will improve over time and get over it on your own. If you need to seek a doctor's care, then you need to call ahead initially so that they know to bring you in in a different fashion so that you don't contaminate an area or expose other people to the illness. And also so that the providers know that they need to have special masks on and special protection when you come in to examine you.

Host: Well, on that note, when should you go see a doctor?

Kevin Reyburn, MD: iIf iIf you're having any difficulty breathing. If you're starting to have difficulty with being extremely tired, hard time waking up, any seizure activity or any decreased urination, dehydration, dizziness when you stand up; those would all be red flags that you need to, to seek medical care.

Host: Well, how would I know if I am protected or if my kids are protected?

Kevin Reyburn, MD: You are protected if you've had one of the vaccines about 90 to 95%, and if you've had two of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines, you will have about 99% protected against the illness. Also, if you've had the illness in the past, you would be protected. So, you don't have to have lab test or any type of special testing to know that you're protected against measles.

Host: One example I'm also thinking about is, let's say I just had a baby, obviously too young for vaccines. How can I protect them from measles?

Kevin Reyburn, MD: Well, the first would be to avoid anybody who would have measles, obviously.

The baby, if the mother is vaccinated or has had measles in the past, the infant is protected by mother's antibodies, which are transmitted across the placenta before they are born. The antibodies normally for viral illnesses will last for about four months.

We have noted that for measles, infants can have protection up to a year from mother's antibodies, which is why they had chosen one year to give the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. If there is a measles outbreak or you're concerned about your child getting exposed to measles, or you want to protect him against measles, the vaccine can be given as early as six months of age.

And the thing to know is that if you do get it before 12 months, you still have to get the 12 month vaccine and then another booster at least 28 days after that particular 12 month MMR. Currently we give the 12 month MMR measles vaccine, and then we give another prior to going to kindergarten around four to six years of age.

But that second dose can be given anytime one month after the first.

Host: Doctor, are there any side effects to getting this shot?

Kevin Reyburn, MD: The measles mumps rubella vaccine, which has also now been incorporated with the Varicella, which is chickenpox vaccine, is what we call a live virus vaccine, which means that it is given and you will have a mild case of "measles or chickenpox". The rate is about 50% of people will develop a fever and a rash about seven to 14 days after the vaccine.

It lasts for just a couple days. It's mild and there's nothing you necessarily need to do. That would be the most common. There are concerns that I get many times from patients about the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine causing autism. It has been extensively studied and researched, and I can say with confidence that it does not cause autism. It can cause fevers. It can cause rashes, but as far as any type of permanent injury, there have not been found to have any association with the vaccine.

Host: And lastly, doctor, why should I be concerned about measles?

Kevin Reyburn, MD: Measles is a very contagious virus as previously discussed, but it also has a lot of long-term complications. There is a complication called subacute sclerosis panencephalitis, which does not occur until approximately seven to 10 years after you've had the illness. And if you develop this particular complication, it is a hundred percent fatal.

It is rare, but it can occur. Something that's more common is something called immune amnesia, which is common and this basically makes the white blood cells called T cells, which fight off infection forget how to make antibodies to things that you've already had or been immunized against, and it lasts about five years and you can therefore get other illnesses that you've already previously been immune to because of this effect.

It also can cause pneumonia and encephalitis, and about one to three people out of a thousand will develop encephalitis. And with measles, anywhere from one to three out of a thousand will die from the illness itself.