Measles Homepage

Transmission of Measles

boy sneezing Measles is highly contagious and can be spread to others from four days before to four days after the rash appears. Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected with the measles virus.

The virus lives in the mucus in the nose and throat of the infected person. When that person sneezes or coughs, droplets spray into the air. The droplets can get into other people’s noses or throats when they breathe or put their fingers in their mouth or nose after touching an infected surface. The virus can live on infected surfaces for up to 2 hours and spreads so easily that people who are not immune will probably get it when they come close to someone who is infected.

Measles is a disease of humans; measles virus is not spread by any other animal species.

Measles: Unprotected Story
Parents tell true story of how measles sickened their child and impacted their family.
Measles chapter of the Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine Preventable Diseases (Pink Book)
Describes measles transmission and other related topics in more depth.

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