Education
MMR Vaccine & Measles Fact Sheet
Measles is a self-limiting, childhood viral infection. Measles symptoms include a prodromal (initial) phase of cough, runny nose, eye irritation and fever, followed by a generalized rash on days 4–10 of the illness. Measles is contagious during the prodromal phase and for 3–4 days after rash onset.
measles cases are benign. Before the measles mass vaccination program was introduced, nearly everyone contracted measles and obtained lifetime immunity by age 15. Rarely, measles can cause brain damage and death.
The MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine was introduced in 1971 to prevent cases of measles, mumps and rubella.