About measles

Measles is a virus that spreads easily through the air when someone who has measles coughs or sneezes. Measles is sometimes called rubeola or red measles.

Symptoms can include:

• fever of 38.3°C or higher; and
• cough, runny nose, or red eyes; and
• a rash that appears 3 to 7 days after fever starts, usually beginning behind the ears and on the face and spreading down to the body and then to the arms and legs. The rash appears red and blotchy on lighter skin colours. On darker skin colours, it can appear purple or darker than the skin around it, or it might be hard to see. View measles rash images.

Measles can be dangerous because:

• One in 10 people with measles will get middle ear or lung infections.
• One in 1,000 people with measles will get encephalitis (swelling of the brain), which can lead to seizures, deafness, or brain damage.
• One to three of every 1,000 people with measles will die.
• In 1963, before widespread immunization, measles caused about 60,000 cases each year in Canada.

Learn more about measles or see frequently asked questions about measles.

Who is most at risk?

You are at risk of being in contact with measles if you travel outside of Canada or to areas within Canada where measles is spreading. If you have not had measles in the past or if you have not been fully immunized against it and you come into contact with the virus, you are at risk of getting measles.

Measles tends to be more severe in children younger than 5 years, adults, people who are pregnant, and people with weak immune systems.

If you were born before 1970, there is a good chance you are immune to measles, as you were likely exposed to measles when it circulated widely before 1970.

How it spreads

Measles is an extremely contagious disease, spread easily through the air.

You do not need to be in direct contact with someone who is infected. You can get measles just by passing through a room or location where a person who is infected was up to 2 hours before. The person who is infected does not still need to be there to put you at risk of disease.

Measles can also be spread through coughing, sneezing, yelling, singing, and breathing.

If you have measles, you can spread the disease before you show any symptoms. Measles can spread starting 4 days before the rash appears until 4 days after the rash appears.

Immune globulin (IG)

If you have contact with the measles virus, are not immunized, and are at risk for serious illness, you may get immune globulin. Immune globulin can help prevent measles or prevent you from getting seriously sick if you do get measles.

Immune globulins give quick, short-term protection. For long-term protection, you need a vaccine.

Learn more about immune globulin.