Before the emergence of vaccines in the early 1960s, measles killed about 2.6 million people a year with major epidemics striking every two to three years. That may have all changed but the disease is still a major killer of young children. The vaccine, now in use for over half a century, is considered safe, effective and inexpensive by the medical community. For those who do contract the disease, its initial symptoms include a high fever, beginning about 10 to 12 days after exposure to the virus. The most serious complications include blindness, encephalitis (an infection that causes brain swelling), severe diarrhoea and related dehydration, ear infections, or severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia.

Source: The Irish Times February 20, 2018 11:26 UTC