L 64 Viral Skin Disease 1 Rubeola/Rubella Flashcards
Difference between rubeola and rubella
Rubeola= measles Rubella= german measles
Measles reservoir
No known natural reservoir, thought to be a disease of civilization. Humans only.
Measles incubation period
10-14 days
How is measles spread?
Sets up shop in the respiratory epithelium, virus spread through respiratory droplets that remain in environment for considerable amount of time
Measles Prodromal stage
1-12 days post infection
Fever, Coryza, cough, conjunctivitis
Koplick’s spots on buccal mucosa pathognomonic for measles
When does measles rash appear? What accompanies it?
3-4 days after exposure
Starts below ears, spreads to face and then down
High fever accompanies it
When is it best to get measles?
Better to get while young, like polio, because much of the unpleasant symptoms come from the reaction of the immune system so an immature immune system will not react so severely
Atypical measles
First vaccine produced antibodies that actually didn’t completely inactivate the virus and instead sensitized the person to the virus so when they encountered the actual virus they got a sickness worse than if they had not received the vaccine.
Second vaccine fixed this problem.
Complications of measles
Measles would often lead to secondary complications
Pneumonia–most common and life threatening
Diarrhea–in children
Used to cause death in many cases and rarely encephalitis
SSPE: subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, fatal complication, child would get better, but virus would remain in the brain and grow slowly and eventually cause death, now extinct
Immune depression: can cause TB exacerbation
Why did lots of other diseases drop off after introduction of measles vaccine?
Stopping measles stopped a significant drop in immunity in kids and prevented them from getting lots of other diseases
Measles type of virus
Paramyxovirus
Enveloped
ssRNA
Measles trasmission
Respiratory droplets
HIGHLY contagious, surprisingly able to find those who are not vaccinated
Likes drier climates
What vitamin can reduce severity of measles infection?
Vitamin A helps
When is patient most contagious?
During prodrome until 4-5 days after rash erupts
Does vaccination to measles last a lifetime?
It is questionable, not entirely perfect