FAQs / Public Resources

Measles is a disease that can spread very quickly and make some people severely ill. Vaccination is the best way to prevent measles.

Measles spreads easily. It’s spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes and the virus can remain in the room for two hours after the infected person has left. One person can spread it to many others if the other people in the room are not protected. 

Vaccination is the most effective way to avoid getting the measles.  Studies show that two doses of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine are about 97% effective against measles and that protection is long lasting. Most people receive MMR vaccine as a child. The CDC recommends children receive two doses of the vaccine. The first dose is recommended at ages 12 to 15 months and the second dose at ages 4 to 6 years.

A person has a high level of protection against measles if they’ve had two doses of the MMR vaccine or were born before 1957, which was prior to the vaccine when most people had measles as children and developed immunity.

Residents are encouraged to check their vaccination status:

• Review vaccination records in the Nebraska State Immunization Information System or contact your health care provider.
• If you’re not finding your records, consult with your health care provider or pharmacist about next steps. Remember it’s safe and effective to get vaccinated, even if you were vaccinated in the past.
  
  

Those most at risk of getting measles are people who have had no doses of MMR vaccine or who have not had the measles. If you’re not current on your MMR vaccine, talk to your health care provider or pharmacist about getting vaccinated. Any adult or child who is unvaccinated and exposed to a positive measles case will need to stay home for 21 days.

If you or your child has measles or believe you have been exposed, isolate yourself away from others and call your health care provider, urgent care or nearest emergency room before arriving to be tested. Do not arrive at a healthcare facility without giving advance notice.

The incubation period is typically 11–12 days from exposure to measles virus until the first symptoms appear. A rash follows the prodromal symptoms 2–4 days later and usually lasts 5–6 days.

• Fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. Koplik spots (tiny white spots inside the mouth) may also appear 2–3 days after symptoms first appear.
• Rash: A rash of both flat and raised skin lesions that usually begins on the head and face and then spreads downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs, and feet. The spots may become joined together as they spread from the head to the body. Fever may spike to more than 104° F when rash appears.

People are most infectious before showing signs or symptoms from four days before developing the measles rash through four days after rash onset.

• Most common complications - diarrhea and ear infection.
• Most severe complications - pneumonia, encephalitis, and death. Patients may require hospitalization. Children younger than 5, adults older than 20, pregnant women, and immunocompromised persons are at most risk of serious complications.
• Those who are immune compromised are also at greater risk.

Some people shouldn’t get MMR vaccine or should wait to get vaccinated. If you fall into one of these categories, please check with your health care provider.

There is no specific treatment for measles but you can take actions to relieve symptoms. Anyone with measles should not go back to childcare, school, or work until 4 days after the rash has disappeared and is no longer symptomatic. Contacts to a measles case should have their immunization status evaluated.

Please call the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department’s Communicable Disease Program at 402-441-8053.

Measles | Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

Measles (Rubeola) | CDC