Causes of Measles - How Measles is Spread?

Alternative Name: Rubeola

Measles (Rubeola) is a highly contagious and infectious disease. More than 90% of people without immunity sharing a house with an infected person will catch measles very easily. This disease mainly affects young children, and less common in adults, but then also can be caught at any age.

The main cause of measles is a paramyxovirus of genus morbillivirus. This virus is very contagious and it easily spreads from one person through respiration (contact with fluids from an infected person's nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol transmission). It usually spreads from the droplets of coughs and sneezes of an infected person in the air, contact with the skin, or via objects having virus on them. It can even spread while an infected person and a healthy person talk.

The MMR vaccine (mumps, measles and rubella) has now made measles quite rare in US, but there have been recent outbreaks in children who had not been immunized.

Once the paramyxovirus gets inside the body, it starts growing in the cells that line the back of the throat and lungs. The infection then spreads throughout the body, including the respiratory system and the skin.

Risk Factors of Measles (Rubeola) are given below:

1. Malnutrition.
2. Underlying immunodeficiency.
3. Pregnancy.
4. Vitamin A deficiency.