Measles more than 10 times more infectious than COVID19

With the lifting of social distancing measures for COVID-19 virus infections, the number of overseas travelers has increased significantly. According to the Tourism Knowledge Information System of the Korea Institute of Culture and Tourism, there were 4,979,386 international travelers from South Korea between January and March this year. Last year, 6,554,031 international travelers left Japan, and in the first quarter already exceeded 75%. As the number of overseas tourists surges, it is necessary to pay attention to infectious diseases other than the COVID-19 virus infection.

In January of this year, there was an outbreak of measles in South Korea for the first time in three years. issued a warning. Measles is particularly susceptible to infection in Southeast Asian regions such as Vietnam and the Philippines, where there are many Korean tourists, so even more caution is needed. In fact, 71% of domestic and international visitors this year have traveled to the Asian region.

Measles is an acute febrile exanthematous disease caused by measles virus infection. Measles can cause fever, rash, cough, runny nose, and conjunctivitis. Most cases resolve spontaneously but rarely are associated with severe respiratory and central nervous system complications.

Above all, measles is highly contagious because it spreads through the air. The basal reproductive number, which is the average number of people an infected person infects others during the infectious period, is the highest among all known viruses. The basal reproductive number of measles is 12-18, that of varicella virus is 5-7, and that of COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) varies depending on the mutation, but the risk of measles infection is currently around 1, which is very high.

Professor Jeong Eun-joo explained, "that measles is prevalent in many countries that Koreans visit when travelling abroad, and although it is recommended that Koreans who are not immune to measles should be vaccinated before leaving the country, awareness of measles vaccination is low, and that 97% of measles can be prevented if the vaccine is given twice, and therefore, the presence of immunity to measles should be checked before travelling."