High fever, cough, moqueo, reddened eyes and rash are some symptoms that can be experienced when contracting measlesan extremely contagious disease that this week He raised his life to a child not vaccinated in the United States.
Measles is an infectious disease caused by a virus that is transmitted by air and easily disseminated from person to person, according to the Health Department.
In the worst scenarios, it can lead to serious medical complications and cause death, as happened west Texas, in the United States. The minor who died this week was not vaccinated and was part of one of the largest outbreaks in that southern state in 30 years. His death is the first by measles in the United States since 2015 and is related to an outbreak, which began at the end of January.
According to him Texas Health Services Departmentthe child was hospitalized in Lubbock since last week. Until Tuesday, infections in the rural area of West Texas added 124, in nine counties. Of the 124, 101 are patients between 0 and 17 years. In addition, there are nine cases in the east of New Mexico.
The data of the Texas Health Services Department show that the vast majority of cases are in children under 18 years.
Meanwhile, in Spain, a series of measles outbreaks have also been reported. In the first eight weeks of 2025, the health system diagnosed at least 107 cases and investigates eight open shoots, reported The country this week.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that this disease spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezing. Before spreading throughout the body, the virus infects the respiratory tract.
The virus present in the air or on infected surfaces remains active and can keep its infectious capacity up to two hours. WHO establishes that a infected person can infect nine out of 10 uncompared direct contacts.
In addition, the patient with measles can transmit the virus from four days before up to four days after the start of the cutaneous eruption, that is, skin changes, such as rash.
In addition, WHO warns that measles also weakens the immune system and can make the body forget the way to protect against infections, which puts children in a situation of extreme vulnerability.
Among the most common symptoms, high fever is included (which can rise more than 104 ° F), cough, rhinorrhea (nasal drip) and a cutaneous eruption that extends throughout the body. This disease also causes an eruption in the red skin with spots that usually starts in the head and descend to the rest of the body. Symptoms usually appear between 10 and 14 days after exposure to virus.
WHO estimates that 107,500 people died of measles worldwide in 2023 – mostly children under 5 years old – although there is a safe and effective vaccine.
The Health Department calculates, meanwhile, that One in five people who contract measles could be hospitalizedand one in every 1,000 with the disease will present inflammation of the brain by the infection, which produces brain damage.
There is no treatment, but the measles-pea-rubéola (MMR) vaccine can prevent it. The Health Department emphasizes that the most effective public health measure against measles is vaccination.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention They recommend that children receive two doses of the measles vaccine, starting with the first between 12 and 15 months of age, and the second between 4 and 6 years.
