Rudy Schuebel
Hour 7
The Measles

Type of Organism: A virus with single-stranded RNA

Common Name: Measles

Scientific Name: Rubella

Overview/History: The earliest written description of measles as a disease, was in the 9th century, by a scientist who described some differences between measles and smallpox in his medical notes. In 1757, Francis Homes demonstrated that measles was caused by an infectious agent present in the blood of patients. In 1954 the virus that causes measles was isolated in Boston, by John Enders and Thomas Peebles. Before the measles vaccine, nearly all children got measles by the time they were 15 years old. Each year in the United States, about 450-500 people died because of measles, and about 48,000 were hospitalized. In 2012 there were only about 50 cases reported in the United States, and most of these were started outside the US.

Transmission: The virus lives in the mucus of the nose and throat of the infected person. When that person sneezes or coughs, droplets spray into the air. The droplets can get into other people’s noses or throats when they breathe. Or also they could put their fingers in their mouth or nose after touching an infected surface. Measles is a disease of humans, so that means the measles virus is not spread by any other animal species.

Symptoms/Treatment: The symptoms of measles generally begin about 7-14 days after a person is infected, and include blotchy rash, fever, cough, runny nose, red