Measles: Etiology, Epidemiology, and Nursing Roles

Running head: Measles 1
Measles
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Measles 2
According to Thomas, et al (2016), measles is a very communicable viral disease in
children. The disease is however not limited to children since it can infect people of all ages. Not
many cases of measles have worsened but there is likelihood of developing various
complications. The main control method for this disease has been through vaccination as the
disease readily spreads among people who have not had a measles vaccine. This paper will cover
the etiology and epidemiology of measles, the risk factors, the role of the registered nurse and
how the nursing roles can help improve the situation.
Etiology, impacts and epidemiology of the disease
Measles infects the respiratory system. The disease also causes a skin rash on the body of
the infected person. In expectant mothers, the disease may also be prevalent and it may increase
incidences of pre mature labor, giving birth to children of very low weight or even miscarriage.
World statistics on infection rates indicate that the disease is mainly prevalent in children. In
Singapore, cases of the infection have reduced since measles vaccination was made compulsory
in 1981. Since then, children continue to receive the MMR vaccine from the age of 15 months up
to 12 years. The MMR vaccine also vaccinates children against mumps, measles and rubella.
The causative agent of measles is a virus known as paramoxyvirus. It mainly affects
people who have not been immunized against the disease. The main method of infection from the
infected to a healthy person is through close contact. The main ways of spreading is through
coughing, sneezing and having direct contact with surfaces that are contaminated with the virus.
The incubation period of the disease takes 24-48 hours before any visible signs and symptoms of
the disease. The skin rash may however delay up to a period of 4 days. The virus on the
contaminated surfaces may carry the virus for several hours and still infect an individual after a
period of several hours.

Measles 3
The main signs and symptoms of the disease may only begin to show after ten days of
infection. However, minor signs develop before. These minor signs include; fever, colds,
coughing and sneezing accompanied by a running nose, reddening of the eyes and occasional
shedding of tears. The skin rash begins to develop as bluish white small spots often reddish at the
bottom. As the spots continue to appear on the various body parts, skin rash then develops. The
skin rash contains very has very red spots that are not always accompanied by itching. The skin
rash mainly begins on areas near the face, on the face and neck and hen spreads to various body
parts. The rash may then disappear after a while following the same procedure but it leaves an
irritated skin in the victim (Ting, et al 2015).
In complicated cases, the infected person may have enlarged lymph nodes, stomach
upsets, vomiting and diarrhea. The person may also develop a condition; conjuvities which
affects the eyes making too much light sensitive. The effects of the disease are more extreme in
adults than in small children. Death cases resulting from the disease are rare but not completely
unavoidable. World statistics have proven that the death rate resulting from measles is about 0.05
percent. This means that 5 out of every 1000 people die of measles every year.th deaths mainly
result from pneumonia and encephalitis Bassey, et al (2015).
Other severe conditions of measles include ear infection for relatively older people also
known as Otitis Media. Pneumonia is mainly found in children and encephalitis which refers to
the infection of the brain explains Vemula, et al (2016). Major signs and symptoms of
encephalitis include seizures, commas and longer terms of mental impedance. Other organs that
may be infected include the liver and the kidneys.
The prevalence rates of measles in Singapore cannot be said to have reached shocking
levels (Berger, 2015). However, there are some outstanding situations that have lacked an