Dermatological signs and symptoms of measles: a prospective case series and comparison with the literature

Background/aims: Because of high vaccination rates, population immunity against measles increased in the western world. Nevertheless, outbreaks are still observed. The aim of this article is to document and describe the natural course of dermatological manifestations and compare it with the literature.

Methods: After detecting a measles index case, the dermatological onset of the disease in the non-vaccinated siblings was prospectively monitored and documented with a digital camera.

Results: Our findings show that dermatological symptoms are only limited consistently from one case to another and described heterogeneously in the literature as well.

Conclusion: Dermatological manifestations do not seem conclusive in our clinical data set as well as in the literature. Especially the exact onset of the Koplik spots should be further explored in detail. In future, a larger population should be observed and clinical diagnostics for measles defined.