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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffThe cause of measles is a very contagious virus, which lives in the mucus in the nose and throat of an infected child or adult. That child or adult is contagious from four days before the rash appears to four days after.
When someone with measles coughs, sneezes or talks, infected droplets spray into the air, where other people can inhale them. The infected droplets may also land on a surface, where they remain active and contagious for several hours. You can contract the virus by putting your fingers in your mouth or nose or rubbing your eyes after touching the infected surface.
- Measles: Q&A about disease and vaccine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/measles/faqs-dis-vac-risks.htm. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Brunell PA. Measles (rubeola virus infection). In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/127725136-3/820414473/1492/1315.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50395-5_16443. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Fact sheet: Measles. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs286/en/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Update: Measles-United States, January-July 2008. MMWR. 2008:57:893. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5733a1.htm. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Barinaga JL, et al. Clinical presentation and diagnosis of measles. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Facts about measles for adults. National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. http://www.nfid.org/pdf/factsheets/measlesadult.pdf. Accessed March 24, 2009.
- Bekhor D, et al. Prevention and treatment of measles. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 25, 2009.
- Vaccine safety: Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/mmr_vaccine.htm. Accessed March 25, 2009.
- Rosenow EC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 9, 2009.
