Measles can be a very serious disease - and children who have not been vaccinated are at risk.
What is measles?
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease characterised by a high fever, a rash and generally feeling unwell.
The first symptoms include runny nose, sore eyes, a cough and fever.
Around the fourth day of the illness, a rash - flat red or brown blotches - may appear, usually starting on the forehead and spreading downwards.
There may also be diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
While this may be the full extent of the illness in many, resolving itself within two weeks of the first symptoms, other complications may arise in about one in 15 cases.
These include a severe cough and breathing difficulties, ear infections, pneumonia and eye infections.
In a very small number of cases, inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) may follow. This is extremely dangerous, as 25% of those affected are left with brain damage.
From: BBC Health News
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