Measles kills between 1 and 3 out of every 1,000 children infected with the viral disease. But even for those who survive the illness, the long-term consequences of measles can be serious. Long after a person recovers from their acute infection, their immune system is compromised — and in rare cases, the measles virus can hide out in the nervous system, roaring back to cause a fatal disease years later.
In the short term, measles, caused by a highly contagious virus, usually causes fever, respiratory symptoms like coughing, and a distinctive rash that spreads from the hairline down the body. It appears as if a "bucket of rash" is poured over the head, according to Patsy Stinchfield, an infectious disease nurse practitioner and the most recent past president of the non-profit National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).
