Organism, Causative Agent, or Etiologic Agent
Measles virus is a paramyxovirus from the genus Morbillivirus.
Transmission
Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected with the measles virus. The virus lives in the mucus in the nose and throat of the infected person. When that person sneezes or coughs, droplets spray into the air and can infect people around him.
Symptoms
A typical case of measles begins with mild to moderate fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, and sore throat. Two or three days after symptoms begin, tiny white spots (Koplik’s spots) may appear inside the mouth. Three to five days after the start of symptoms, a red or reddish-brown rash appears. The rash usually begins on a person’s face at the hairline and spreads downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet. When the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prevention
Immunization is the only way to prevent measles. Measles vaccination is required for school entry in Texas.
School Exclusion Policy
Children with suspected or confirmed measles should be kept out of school or childcare until 4 days after the onset of rash. Rules for exclusion of sick children from school and chilcare are outlined in the Texas Administrative Code, specifically Rule 97.7 for schools and Rule 746.3603 for childcare.
Recent Texas Trends
 In the 10 years prior to vaccine introduction, annual measles incidence peaked at 85,862 in 1958 in Texas. Since the introduction of vaccine, cases have decreased by 99.9% in Texas. Nearly all cases and outbreaks of measles in the US and Texas since 2000 have occurred among persons exposed to imported cases from countries where measles is still endemic. Due to recent declines in vaccination rates in Europe, several outbreaks have occurred in the United States in 2011 related to European visitors or Americans visiting Europe.
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