Measles

Measles, also known as rubeola, is a common disease caused by a virus of the genus Morbillivirus.

Diagnosis

A detailed history should be taken including course of the disease so far, vaccination history, contact history and travel history.

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Clinical diagnosis of measles requires a history of fever of at least 3 days together with at least one of the three Cs above. Observation of Koplik's spots is also diagnostic of measles.

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Alternatively, laboratory diagnosis of measles can be done with confirmation of positive measles IgM antibodies or isolation of measles virus from respiratory specimens.

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Positive contact with other patients known to have measles adds strong epidemiological evidence to the diagnosis.

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