Measles
Measles: What You Need to Know
What are Measles?
Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. You can catch the disease just by being in a room where a person with measles has been-even after the person is gone! Most people in the United States are protected against the measles through vaccination; however, measles is still common in many parts of the world and travelers continue to bring the disease into the U.S. It can spread when it reaches a community in the U.S. where groups of people are unvaccinated.