MMR VACCINE - MEASLES VACCINE - MUMPS VACCINE - RUBELLA VACCINE - ADULT IMMUNIZATION - ADULT VACCINATION

What is measles?
Measles is a highly infectious respiratory disease that can result in severe, sometimes permanent, complications including pneumonia, seizures (jerking and staring), brain damage and death. It is spread by contact with an infected person through coughing and sneezing. In fact, if one person has measles, 9 out of 10 of their close contacts will get it too, unless they are protected.

What are the symptoms of measles?
Measles causes rash, cough, runny nose, eye irritation and fever.

What is mumps?
Mumps is caused by the mumps virus, which lives and reproduces in the upper respiratory tract. It is spread through mucus or saliva when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Mumps can lead to serious complications such as deafness, meningitis (infection of the brain and spinal cord covering), painful swelling of the testicles or ovaries, and, rarely, death.

What are the symptoms of mumps?
Mumps' symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite, followed by swelling of the salivary glands. The parotid salivary glands (which are located within the cheek, near the jaw line, below the ears) are most frequently affected, giving the cheeks a puffy appearance.

What is rubella?
Rubella, also known as German measles, is a viral disease spread by contact with an infected person through coughing and sneezing. While rubella is typically mild in children, adults tend to have more complications. The main concern with rubella, however, is infection in pregnant women. There is at least a 20 percent chance of damage to the fetus if a woman is infected with rubella early in pregnancy.

What are the symptoms of rubella?
Older children and adults with rubella usually first suffer from low-grade fever, swollen glands in the neck or behind the ears, and upper respiratory infection, before they develop a rash. In addition, adult women often develop pain and stiffness in their fingers, wrists and knee joints, which may last up to a month.

Which adults should get vaccinated?
The MMR vaccine is a "three-in-one" vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella.

All adults should receive the MMR vaccine, except:

• Those who have blood tests showing immunity to measles, mumps and rubella
• Men born before 1957
• Women born before 1957 who are sure they are not having more children and have already had rubella vaccine or a positive rubella test
• Those who already had two doses of MMR or one dose of MMR plus a second dose of measles vaccine
• Those who already had one dose of MMR and are not at high risk of measles exposure
• Women who are pregnant
• Adults who have immune deficiency disease(s) or are immunosuppressed

You should receive a separate measles vaccine if you are not among the categories listed above, and you:

• Are a college student, trade school student, or other student beyond high school
• Work in a hospital or other medical facility
• Travel internationally, or are a passenger on a cruise ship
• Are a woman of childbearing age

The MMR vaccine is effective in preventing disease caused by these viruses in up to 95 percent of recipients after one dose.

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Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) Information