JAKARTA - Measles and rubella are often considered the same by the public because they both cause skin rashes.
In fact, both are different infections, both in terms of causes, symptoms, and the impact on health. This error often makes the treatment inappropriate, so that the right understanding is important.
The Indonesian Association of Internal Medicine Specialists emphasized that measles is an infectious disease that has long been known and is different from other diseases such as COVID-19 and rubella.
Internal disease specialist, Adityo Susilo, explained that measles is not a new disease and has long been a concern in the global health world.
"Measles is not a new disease. It has been around for a long time and continues to be monitored around the world," he said in a PAPDI forum in Jakarta, recently.
He explained, measles is caused by a virus from the Morbillivirus group, also known as rubeola, which is different from rubella or German measles. Although both cause a rash, they have different characteristics.
"Rubella is different. The measles we mean is rubeola. Both have rashes, but the causes and characteristics are not the same," he explained.
One of the characteristics of measles is the appearance of koplik spots, which are bluish white spots on the inside of the cheeks that are not found in rubella. In addition, measles is also characterized by three main symptoms known as "three C", namely cough (cough), runny nose (coryza), and red eyes (conjunctivitis).
Another difference is seen in its impact. Rubella is generally milder, but it is a serious risk for pregnant women because it can affect fetal development.
Meanwhile, measles does not cause congenital abnormalities, but it still has the potential to cause complications, especially in individuals with low immunity.
Adityo emphasized that a proper understanding of the differences between the two diseases is very important so that the public does not make mistakes in recognizing symptoms or determining treatment steps.
"If we can distinguish correctly, then the detection and handling can also be more accurate," he said.
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