Measles Outbreak Takes Place In England; All You Need To Know About The Disease

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Measles, or rubeola, is an infection of the respiratory system of the human beings and it can also be referred to as a viral infection of the respiratory system. Measles is a very infectious disease that can unfurl across by having contact with the infected mucus and saliva.

A person with this measles infection releases his infectious disease in the air by coughing or sneezing. Thus, measles generally spreads among the population with its infectious characteristics and is regarded as highly dangerous.

The measles virus can live on air or land for a long span of time. As and when the infected particles enter the air and settle on the surfaces, anyone who is nearby to that air surface range can become infected with that disease.

A person can get infected with this disease if he shares the utensils with the already infected person or he drinks from that infected person's glass.

1. Symptoms & Complications of Measles

The symptoms of measles are as follows:

• Fever & cough
• A runny nose
• Conjunctivitis
• Dry cough
• Inflamed and swollen eyes and eyelids with watery retina
• Photophobia or sensitivity to light
• Sneezing
• A reddish-brown rash
• Ache in the body

Persons having measles also have a fever. This can range from being mild or even severe. It lasts several days, and may fall and rise again, if the rash reappears. The reddish-brown rash shows for 3 to 4 days after the symptoms begin to show. This can last for over a week.

The rash appears behind the ears and spreads over the head and neck.

The Complications Include:-

Complications from measles are most common and some of them can be very serious.
People who are mostly prone to get infected by measles are patients with a weak immune system, such as those with HIV, AIDS, leukaemia, or those having a vitamin deficiency, very young children, and adults over the age of 20 years.

Older people are more likely to have complications than healthy children over the age of 5 years.

2. Warning Signaled by Experts Regarding Measles Epidemic in England

Experts were warning that England faced a measles epidemic, since parents in England were failing to get their children immunized after already a warning signal regarding the epidemic was spread across the whole of England by the healthcare authorities.

The government health officials feared that the epidemic could worst affect the children who went and returned from schools and therefore the officials by means of announcements were pleading the children's parents to give the three-in-one measles, mumps and rubella jab.

Another development is that The MMR vaccine had been used as a preventive measure for over a decade, but there have been lots of complaints regarding its side effects. People in England felt that insertion of such vaccine has led to diseases such as arthritis, epilepsy, autism, deafness and bowel disorders.

Hence, due to this fear, in the last five years, the number of children being immunized has fallen from 92 percent to 87 percent. A fall in the numbers of children to be vaccinated caused the measles' outbreak in Ireland, the previous year.

The Department of Health was however continuously recommending that all parents go directly to their General Practitioners and have their children vaccinated in order to prevent a measles outbreak.

3. England - Suffering From The Measles Outbreak

Several cases of Measles outbreak have been observed in England and day by day, the number of cases is increasing. In between January 1st and 9th May, there have been 440 confirmed cases of measles in England. The total number is higher than that of 2017, in which there were 267 confirmed cases. There were 531 confirmed cases in 2016.

Officials at the Public Health England (PHE) are telling that the measles outbreaks in England are largely due to the outbreaks in other countries of Europe. The majority of cases observed are of teenagers and young adults. Officials state that in these majority of cases, the MMR Vaccine was actually not applied on the sufferers when they were children.

They also made it a point to be noted that the persons from England who were on the verge of travelling to Romania and England should take a proper health advice, as there were large measles outbreaks in these European countries.

People were encouraged and assured that they should take their MMR Vaccine, if they missed so, before travelling to other countries. In England, of the total confirmed cases, 164 were in London, 86 in the south-east, 78 in the West Midlands, 42 in the south-west and 37 in West Yorkshire.

Thus, an increase of the Measles Outbreak in England strongly makes a case for proper MMR Vaccination to be given at the right time for the children. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also approved the fact. Therefore, 'Go for MMR', forget the side effects.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or a qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.