17 kids have come down with measles in a New York City outbreak — here's what to know about the illness

On Friday, the New York City Health Department announced that 17 children in Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community have been infected with measles — a highly contagious viral illness that's preventable with vaccines.

The affected children range from 7 months to 4 years old. Three of the infections, including the initial case, were acquired by children who visited Israel, where there's currently a "large outbreak" of the disease, a statement from city health officials said.

The virus has spread in schools where there are unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated children, the statement added, and although there have been no deaths linked with this outbreak, some of the children have been hospitalized because of complications.

Dr. Oxiris Barbot said in the statement.

Here's what everyone should know about the condition.

Measles is a highly contagious illness caused by a virus

Measles is caused by a virus that lives in an infected persons' nose and throat mucus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

When a person with measles coughs, talks, or sneezes, they can spread the virus onto nearby surfaces or into the air around them. And the virus doesn't die the moment it leaves an infected person's body: Measles virus can live up to two hours in the airspace where an infected person coughed or sneezed, the CDC says. It can live for several hours on surfaces, the Mayo Clinic adds.

If another person breathes contaminated air or touches a contaminated surface — and then touches their own eyes, nose, or mouth — they can get measles, too.

The virus is so contagious that if one individual gets measles, 90% of the non-immune people who are close to that person will also get infected, according to the CDC.

It may cause serious complications or death

Measles symptoms show up seven to 14 days after someone is infected. The early signs include fever, cough, runny nose, and red, watery eyes. Two to three days later, tiny white spots may develop in the mouth, too.

Three to five days after symptoms show up, measles patients get a rash. It typically starts with flat red spots on the face that spread down the body, according to the CDC. The rash may also coincide with a fever that spikes higher than 104° F.

A few days later, both the fever and the rash fade.

But some people who get measles experience complications on top of these symptoms. Diarrhea and ear infections are two common complications of the condition, according to the CDC. Other individuals with measles can develop severe, potentially fatal complications, like the lung infection he risk of these complications is higher in kids younger than 5 and adults older than 20. For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die from it, the CDC says.

Measles can be prevented with a safe, effective vaccine

There's no specific treatment for measles, according to the Mayo Clinic, but there is a way to prevent it: Vaccination.

One dose of the MMR vaccine — which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella — is 93% effective in preventing the diseases. Two doses are 97% effective.

according to the CDCBut today, because of the vaccine, there's been a more than 99% reduction in measles cases. However, outbreaks can still occur when an infected person travels to the US from another country, and the virus can spread if it reaches communities where people aren't vaccinated.

The MMR vaccine has long been a target of the anti-vaccination movement, thanks to a discredited belief that the shot causes autism. A 1998 study that claimed to find a link between the vaccine and autism has since been retracted, and a wealth of evidence shows that vaccines don't cause autism.

Currently, the CDC recommends that children get two doses of MMR vaccine: One at 12 to 15 months of age and the second between 4 and 6 years of age.

17 kids have come down with measles in a New York City outbreak — here's what to know about the illness

Measles is a highly contagious illness caused by a virus

It may cause serious complications or death

Measles can be prevented with a safe, effective vaccine

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