Etymologia.measles [me'zelz] Highly contagious disease contagious disease n. See communicable disease. caused by a virus of the genus Morbillivirus Morbillivirus /Mor·bil·li·vi·rus/ (-vi?rus) measles-like viruses; a genus of viruses of the family Paramyxoviridae, including the agents of measles and canine distemper. Mor·bil·li·vi·rus n. , marked by an eruption of distinct, red, circular spots. From the Middle Dutch Middle Dutch n. The Dutch language from the middle of the 12th through the 15th century. masel, "blemish blem·ish n. A small circumscribed alteration of the skin considered to be unesthetic but insignificant. blemish ." References to the disease date back to at least 700 AD, but the first recorded scientific description of measles was in the 10th century AD by the Persian physician Ibn Razi, who described it as "more dreaded than smallpox." Prior to 1963, when the first measles vaccine was licensed, 3-4 million cases and 450 deaths occurred in the United States every year. Measles remains a primary cause of death in developing nations, where vitamin A deficiency Vitamin A Deficiency Definition Vitamin A deficiency exists when the chronic failure to eat sufficient amounts of vitamin A or beta-carotene results in levels of blood-serum vitamin A that are below a defined range. is common. According to the World Health Organization, measles is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable death in children; it is responsible for =850,000 deaths each year. Sources: Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield (MA): Merriam-Webster Incorporated; 2003; Centers for Disease Control an(J Prevention. Measles history. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/nip/diseases/measles/history.htm; and World Health Organization. Measles mortality reduction and regional elimination. Available from http://www.who.int/vaccines-documents/DocsPDF01/www573.pdf |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion