Updates in the Epidemiology, Approaches to Vaccine Coverage and Current Outbreaks of Measles

Measles virus is an RNA virus that causes the highly contagious childhood exanthem. Despite the presence of a safe and effective vaccine, in 2018, measles was responsible for more than 140,000 deaths worldwide, most of which were in children less than 5 years of age. Mortality is primarily associated with the complications of secondary bacterial and viral infections causing pneumonia but also diarrhea. Recent outbreaks have reinstilled interest in maintaining herd immunity to prevent continued resurgence of disease and associated comorbidities.