Measles (Rubeola)

Lab Criteria for Diagnosis

• Isolation of measles virus from a nasopharyngeal specimen (collected within 5 days of rash onset) or urine (collected within 14 days of rash onset).
• Positive serologic test for measles IgM antibody in serum collected 2-28 days after rash onset.
• Significant (four-fold) rise in measles antibody level using paired acute and convalescent sera drawn at least two weeks apart.

Note:  The Arizona State Laboratory currently does not test paired sera for measles antibodies.

Lab Tests

• Specimens to Collect:  
• Acute and convalescent sera
• Collect acute serum 2-28 days after rash onset.
• Collect convalescent serum at least two weeks after the acute serum was collected.
• Nasopharyngeal specimen
• Collect the specimen within 5 days of rash onset.
• After collecting the specimen, place the swab in a tube containing 2-3 mls of viral transport medium (i.e. Hank’s Buffered Saline Solution).
• Urine
• Collect 5-10 mls from clean catch urine and store in a screw top sterile container, preferably a 15 ml centrifuge tube.

• See "Instructions for Collecting Nasopharyngeal Swab Specimens" [PDF 60K].
• Specimens should be shipped refrigerated (i.e. on wet ice) but not frozen.
• Specimens to be tested by the Arizona State Laboratory should be sent to: Arizona State Laboratory, 250 N. 17th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ, 85007.

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