Measles, virus. Symptoms, symptoms and consequences of the disease

Until quite recently, doctors began to think that measles could soon be defeated - a virus that, with its 100% susceptibility, caused epidemics for hundreds of years and was the main cause of death for young children. The World Health Organization has already managed to achieve a 20-fold reduction in mortality from this disease and planned to completely eliminate the risks of infection in several subordinate regions by 2020.

But mankind does not seek easy ways. The generalized fashion among young mothers to refuse vaccination, propaganda of the imaginary danger of this procedure, and simply the irresponsible attitude of young parents to protecting their children, the lack of funds for free vaccinations from the governments of many states - all this jeopardizes the health and lives of kids and adults around the world.

What is measles

This disease was known in ancient times. In the ninth century, a detailed clinical description of the disease was compiled. But until the 20th century, what causes measles-a virus or a bacterium-nobody knew. D. Goldberger and A. Enderson in 1911 were able to prove that the disease causes a virus, and in 1954 T. Peebles and D. Enders isolated an RNA virus that has a special shape of a sphere with a size of 120230 nm and belongs to the family of paramyxoviruses.

How can I get infected?

The measles virus has almost 100 percent contagiosity. A person who does not have immunity to this disease (who was not vaccinated and had not previously been sick) has practically no chance of not becoming infected in case of contact with the patient.

Infection from a sick person through the environment is transmitted to everyone around. Ill since the last days of the incubation period (two days before the onset of rashes) and the next four days, the measles virus secretes during the course of breathing, coughing, sneezing (by airborne droplet). Further through the cells of the nasopharyngeal mucosa and respiratory tract, it penetrates into the blood and affects the lymph nodes, blood capillaries (white blood cells). The rash appears as a result of death of the capillary cells. Further, the syndrome of secondary immunodeficiency develops , and bacterial complications are also often encountered.

It should be noted that the measles virus exciter can not survive long in the open air, objects and clothes. Although there are registered cases of infection through the ventilation system. He dies at room temperature on average after two hours, and after thirty minutes completely loses the ability to infect. Instantly, the virus dies when exposed to ultraviolet radiation and at high temperatures. Therefore, during the epidemic, there is no need to disinfect the premises.

Who can get sick and when?

The main victims of measles are small children between the ages of two and five. Also, I increasingly register cases of adolescents aged 15-17.

Adults are infected with measles much less often. But most likely, this is due to the fact that in the adult age, there is already immunity from vaccination or from a previous illness.

It is not possible to get measles again. Registered cases can be regarded as erroneous diagnosis in the first disease or a serious violation in the work of the human immune system.

In Russia, the greatest number of cases is observed in the spring-winter period, from the end of November to May, with a frequency of every two to four years.

Can a baby get sick?

Newborns during the first three months of life have a stable borrowed immunity from the mother, if she has been ill before. Immunity in children, whose mothers were not ill and were not vaccinated, no, and they can get sick. It is also possible to infect an infant during childbirth during a mother's illness.

The incubation period

Like most diseases, it has a period of incubation in the body and measles. The virus does not exert itself externally for 7-17 days. At this time, starting from day 3 of the incubation period, only through a detailed analysis can one find in the spleen, tonsils, lymph nodes typical large multinucleate cells. The symptoms of the disease appear externally only after the virus multiplies in the lymph nodes and enters it in the blood.

Measles virus: symptoms

• A sharp rise in temperature to 38-40.5 degrees;
• dry cough;
• photophobia;
• headache;
• Hoarseness or hoarseness of the voice;
• Disturbances of consciousness, delirium;
• Disorders in the work of the intestine;
• Swelling of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract;
• Symptoms of conjunctivitis: edema of the eyelids, redness around the eyes;
• The appearance of red spots in the mouth - in the sky, the inner surface of the cheeks;
• On the second day of the disease, white small spots appear on the oral mucosa;
• The exanthema itself appears on the fourth or fifth day, its appearance on the face and neck, behind the ears, then on the body and on the folds of the hands, feet, fingers, palms and feet is characteristic.

Korevaya rash - a special papules, surrounded by a stain and tending to merge (this is what distinguishes it from rubella, in which the rash has no property to merge). After the fourth day of rashes, when the virus is defeated, the rash gradually comes off: it darkens, pigmented, begins to peel off. Hyper-pigmented areas with a rash will remain for another 1-2 weeks.

Measles in children

One of the most common and most dangerous childhood diseases is measles. The virus most often affects children of preschool and primary school age.

Before the production of vaccines was established in Russia and a free prevention program was launched, every fourth child died from this virus and its complications on average. Today vaccinations are made to all relatively healthy children in one year and at six years (according to the national vaccination calendar). If the child is not vaccinated, the risks of getting sick with a carrier of infection reach one hundred percent. The grafted children either do not get sick at all, or they tolerate the disease very easily.

The incubation period in the infected child can vary and averages from 10 to 15 days. At this time, there are no symptoms of the disease, but two days before the manifestation of the clinical picture the child will be contagious to others.

Most often, children get sick heavily. First signs of usual acute respiratory viral infection (ARVI) appear:

• Temperature 38-40 degrees;
• Severe dry cough;
• Coryza;
• weakness;
• lack of appetite;
• A bad dream.

On the 3-5th day of the disease, a rash begins to appear - small pink, merging spots. In children, it occurs quickly and spreads throughout the body. During the appearance of a rash, the temperature after a seemingly visible improvement can again start to rise.

In children from two to five years, measles is especially dangerous. The child organism, which has not yet matured, is slowly coping with the virus and complications often arise because of the bacterial infection that has joined:

• Otitis;
• Bronchial pneumonia;
• blindness;
• encephalitis;
• Severe inflammation of the lymph nodes;
• laryngitis.

It is because of these complications that it is so important to show the child to the doctor in time and to monitor the course of the illness. Complications often begin to manifest after a time after the child has recovered.

Measles in adults

Measles in adults are a rare disease. But if a person already gets infected, problems can not be avoided. Adult people after 20 years of age are ill for a long time. The acute period of the disease can last up to two weeks. Most often the disease causes various complications, as well as the likelihood of joining a bacterial infection.

Types of complications in adults:

• Bacterial pneumonia;
• Measles pneumonia;
• otitis;
• Tracheobronchitis;
• Disorders in the central nervous system;
• laryngitis;
• Croup (stenosis of the larynx);
• hepatitis;
• Lymphadenitis (inflammation of the lymph nodes);
• Inflammation of the membranes of the brain - meningoencephalitis (40% of cases of which end in a lethal outcome).

Thus, we understand that measles, whose virus is generally considered to be dangerous only for children, can cause serious illness in adults and even lead to disability or death.

Measles in pregnant women

It's easy to guess that a disease that causes so many problems can not easily flow in a pregnant woman. But the greatest experiences of the future mother cause problems for the baby. And not in vain.

Measles are all the more dangerous for the fetus, the shorter the gestation period. In the first trimester a woman with a probability of up to 20% will have a spontaneous miscarriage, or, worse, the disease will lead to serious malformations of the fetus (oligophrenia, nervous system damage, etc.). Unfortunately, it is impossible to identify these defects in early ultrasound studies of the fetus and even at the first screening, and women are often asked to have an abortion.

If the pregnant woman is sick after the sixteenth week, the prognosis is much more comforting. At this time, the placenta has matured enough to fully protect the fetus from the mother's ailment, so the probability of problems for a future child is rather low.

The danger appears again if the mother is sick before the very birth. Moreover, she herself simply will not have enough strength for the birth because of the virus, and the risks of infecting a child during passage through the birth canal are very high. Of course, doctors today have all the means to save the baby's life: both resuscitation, and potent antibiotics. And most likely, the child will be cured. But why risk so much if there is an opportunity to protect yourself and the child in advance? To pass the analysis on antibodies to a measles virus it is necessary for each woman even before the beginning of planning of pregnancy. After all, if you take care of your health now and get vaccinated in time, you will not get a chance to get sick during pregnancy.

Methods of diagnosis

Most often, the diagnosis is made on the basis of clinical data after the appearance of a characteristic measles rash. But it is possible to diagnose the laboratory before (or confirm it) by determining where the measles virus is located. Microbiology allows you to isolate from the blood, mucus of the oral cavity and nose, urine cells of the virus in the first day of the disease (even before the appearance of the rash) and even at the end of the incubation period. Under a special microscope, one can consider characteristic luminous, with inclusions, giant oval-shaped cells.

In addition, the patient may be assigned:

• General analysis of urine and blood to exclude the attachment of bacterial infection and the development of complications;
• Specific blood test for the detection of antibodies (serological analysis for IgG against measles virus);
• Chest X-ray or fluorography for suspected development of measles pneumonia.

But in most cases, the diagnosis of the disease does not cause difficulties for the doctor and is performed without the appointment of additional tests.

How to determine the level of IgG to measles virus

After contact with a sick measles, each person begins to remember if he himself is vaccinated or, perhaps, he was sick in childhood. And if I overlooked, missed and did not inoculate my own child in time? How can I find out? There are also risks that the vaccine was stored incorrectly, and then such a tender virus could die before it was introduced into the body.

Now in each laboratory it is possible to carry out the analysis for antibodies to the measles virus (IgG). This method allows one hundred percent to make sure whether a person has immunity to this disease.

Treatment

There is no specific treatment for measles virus. As with all viral infections, the doctor will treat symptomatic, relieve the condition and prevent the risks of complications. Usually appoint:

• Drugs that reduce temperature and relieve general malaise, pain, fever (Ibuprofen, Paracetamol);
• Aerosols against inflammation and gargling with chamomile, "Chlorhexidine";
• Mucolytics and expectorants from dry cough;
• To relieve symptoms of rhinitis and reduce the risk of otitis media - vasoconstrictive drops in the nose (up to 5 days) and rinsing with saline solution;
• To remove irritation and itching from rashes, rinse with "Dilaxin";
• For the treatment of conjunctivitis - "Albucid" and "Levomycetin";
• To reduce the risk of developing blindness, patients are advised to take vitamin A during the whole period of the illness;
• In the case of pneumonia, antibiotics are prescribed.

Attention! When treating measles, in no case should you use "Aspirin", especially when treating children under 16 years old. This can lead to the development of Ray's syndrome - hepatic encephalopathy.

Prevention

At the age of one year, all children receive free vaccination from the three most dangerous childhood infections (measles, rubella, parotitis). Revaccination for these diseases is carried out at the age of 5-6 years, before the school. Doctors say that this vaccine is well tolerated by children, especially since they make it only to healthy children, so the risks of receiving side reactions are minimal.

Everyone can easily make sure that the vaccine has worked. To do this, you need to pass a special analysis after some time after the injection. Antibodies to measles virus are present in the event that the immunity after vaccination is developed.