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Measles

Prevention & Control

Prevention Guidelines

Vaccination Information

Children should get 2 doses of MMR vaccine:

  • The first at 12-15 months of age
  • The second before the start of school at 4-6 years of age.

These are the recommended ages. But children can get the second dose at any age, as long as it is at least 28 days after the first dose.

Some adults should also get MMR vaccine:

  • Generally, anyone 18 years of age or older who was born after 1956 should get at least one dose of MMR vaccine, unless they can show that they have had either the vaccines or the diseases.

The MMR vaccine may be given at the same time as other vaccines.

Please refer to the CDC for more detailed information regarding the MMR VaccinePDF. Ask your provider for further information regarding the vaccine.

Control guidelines

Household Contacts

Vaccination of all members of the household is necessary to prevent the spread of the illness. Giving the MMR VaccinePDF within 72 hours of exposure to the virus may provide protection in some cases.

Child Care and School Settings

Immunization is the intervention of choice for control of measles outbreaks in schools and child care centers.

Health Care Settings

To prevent nosocomial infections, immunization programs should be established to ensure that all people who work or volunteer in health care facilities that may be in contact with patients with measles have been immunized. Accurate documentation of the measles immunity for all staff should be kept on hand at all times. Rapidly assessing the immunity of all staff exposed to a measles case is essential for preventing further spread of the disease within a health care facility.

A patient hospitalized with measles should be placed in isolation from those who have not been exposed. In addition to standard precautions, airborne transmission precautions are indicated for 4 days after the onset of rash in otherwise healthy children and for the duration of illness in immunocompromised patients.