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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The .gov means it's official.

    Local, state, and federal government websites often end in .gov. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania government websites and email systems use "pennsylvania.gov" or "pa.gov" at the end of the address. Before sharing sensitive or personal information, make sure you're on an official state website. 

    Find MMR Vaccine

    The MMR vaccine is widely available across Pennsylvania through pediatric offices, primary care providers, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Rural Health Centers (RHCs), the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program, pharmacies, county or municipal health departments, or PA's 59 state health centers.

    Most private and commercial health insurance plans cover the MMR vaccine at no cost, but it’s a good idea to check with your insurance provider to be sure. Children 18 and under who are insured through Medicaid — and those who are uninsured or underinsured — can receive the MMR vaccine at no cost at any of Pennsylvania’s 59 state health centers, helping remove financial barriers to measles protection.

    Measles: What You Need to Know

    1. 1

      Measles is a preventable disease that can lead to serious health issues and death.

      Measles is very contagious. Measles can cause serious health complications, especially in children younger than 5 years of age. Serious complications include pneumonia and encephalitis. Certain groups are more likely to have serious complications from measles.

    2. 2

      Vaccines provide the best protection against getting sick from measles.

      Two doses of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) or measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine provide the best protection against measles. Most people who are vaccinated with MMR & MMRV will be protected for life. 

    3. 3

      Measles spreads easily through the air, often from an infected person’s cough or sneeze. The virus can live for up to 2 hours in an airspace after an infected person leaves an area.

      If someone breathes in contaminated air or touches contaminated surfaces and then touches their face (like their eyes, nose, or mouth), they could become infected. A person with measles can spread the virus to others starting 4 days before through 4 days after the rash or symptoms appear.

    4. 4

      Symptoms usually appear in 7 to 14 days, but could be as long as 21 days, after exposure to someone who is infected.

      Measles symptoms usually appear in 7 to 14 days, but could be as long as 21 days, after exposure to the virus. Common measles symptoms include:

      • High fever (may spike to more than 104° F)
      • Cough
      • Runny nose 
      • Red, watery eyes
      • Rash

    Measles Resources

    View the measles fact sheet or view audience-specific information below. 

    Measles can be dangerous, especially for babies and young children. The best protection for your child against measles is the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

    Measles has no specific treatment. Health care providers should help manage any complications appropriately and recommend supportive care, watching for dehydration or difficulty breathing. 

    Providers should contact the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 877-724-3258 or their local health department to immediately report a suspect measles case, or if they have questions about testing.

    Additional Resources

    Planning to travel? Protect yourself against measles. You should be vaccinated against measles at least 2 weeks before international travel. View more health information for travelers.

    Typically, disease-related definitions are created by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) after a thorough process. These definitions are then used by state and federal health partners.  

    CSTE is currently working on measles death guidance. PA DOH has established a definition that is modeled on the existing CSTE definitions for other respiratory illness-associated deaths, such as flu and RSV. PA DOH reports a “measles-associated death” when an individual with an active case of measles dies and meets a set of criteria outlined in the DOH definition:  

    A confirmed measles-associated death is a death that occurs within 30 days of symptom onset in an individual with clinical evidence of a measles infection and a positive laboratory test and that is not due to unrelated causes (e.g., motor vehicle accident). Additional information, such as whether an individual was exposed to measles prior to their death or supporting medical records, are also considered. A death would not be determined to be measles-associated if there was no laboratory evidence of measles infection or if the death was determined to be due to other unrelated causes (e.g., motor vehicle accident).

    DOH would not consider a death to be measles-associated if these criteria are not met. Additionally, if an individual had a previous measles diagnosis and fully recovered before their death, or the death occurred more than 30 days after rash onset, the death would not be counted as measles-associated.

    View the Case Definition for Measles-Associated Death.

    The following information contributed to the development of the definition:

    As defined by the CDC, “a surveillance case definition is a set of uniform criteria used to define a disease for public health surveillance.” These serve a specific function in public health and are separate from clinical definitions individuals such as doctors or medical practitioners use to diagnose a specific person with an illness. “Surveillance case definitions enable public health officials to classify and count cases consistently across reporting jurisdictions. Surveillance case definitions are not intended to be used by health care providers for making a clinical diagnosis or determining how to meet an individual patient’s health needs.”

    Very few national case definitions include information about how to count and report deaths. Generally, these definitions define what clinical, laboratory, and epidemiologic data need to be met for a case to be reported nationally. Outcome variable such as hospitalization and death is often recorded as part of the case investigation but are not part of the case defining criteria.  

    Relationship between case definitions:

    • Shared Purpose & Structure
      • These definitions serve to standardize disease surveillance at local, state, and national levels and are not intended for direct clinical diagnosis. 
    • Uniform Classification Categories
      • Each uses consistent classification tiers—such as clinical description, laboratory confirmation, and case type (probable or confirmed)—enabling reliable count and trend analysis across jurisdictions.
    • Epidemiologic Categorization
      • All use criteria around timing and causality of death, reflecting their public health focus.

    After a case meets the above definition, the following epidemiologic classification is applied to assess importation status. 

    International importation: An internationally imported case is defined as a case in which measles results from exposure to measles virus outside the U.S. as evidenced by at least some of the exposure period (7–21 days before rash onset) occurring outside the U.S. and rash onset occurring within 21 days of entering the U.S. and there is no known exposure to measles in the U.S. during that time.

    All other cases are considered U.S.-acquired.

    U.S.-acquired case: An U.S.-acquired case is defined as a case in which the patient had not been outside the U.S. during the 21 days before rash onset or was known to have been exposed to measles within the U.S. 

    Stopping the Spread of Infectious Diseases

    In public health, we talk with people who are sick and those who may have been exposed to help stop the spread of illness. As part of this work, the Department of Health may:

    • Talk with the sick person about where they’ve been and what might increase their risk.
    • Ask people who are sick to stay home while they can spread the illness.
    • Inform anyone who may have been exposed.
    • Confirm the illness with lab tests.
    • Offer vaccines or other treatments to people who aren’t protected.
    • Share a public notice if not everyone exposed can be reached
    • Watch for any new cases.
    • Encourage vaccination when a vaccine is available.
    • Provide education on the disease and how families and communities can stay safe.