The triple combination vaccination measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) also protects adolescents and adults against the diseases mumps, measles and rubella. Most people are vaccinated as children. If you are unsure whether you have been vaccinated, simply make an appointment to have your vaccination status checked at one of our Avi Medical offices and talk to our team of doctors. Our team will also check whether further vaccinations need to be carried out or refreshed.
Measles and mumps are very contagious viral diseases that are spread worldwide. The disease can cause severe complications and secondary diseases in children, adolescents and adults. Rubella is an infectious disease that often runs without symptoms. However, a rubella infection during pregnancy can cause severe damage to the unborn child. The triple combination vaccination measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) protects you against the diseases and their possible consequences.
Measles is one of the most contagious infectious diseases in humans. It is caused by measles viruses, which are spread worldwide. Measles is transmitted from person to person, e.g. when sneezing or talking (droplet infection). Almost all people without appropriate immune protection fall ill after coming into contact with the virus. That is why the World Health Organization (WHO) has set itself the goal of a world without measles.
More than half of the measles cases in Germany today affect young people and adults up to about the end of their 40s. Typical symptoms are flu-like, such as high fever, cough and cold. Only a few days later does the typical measles rash develop, which starts on the face and behind the ears and then spreads over the whole body.
Measles weakens the immune system over a long period of time, i.e. even after recovery. Particularly in children under 5 and adults over 20, measles can lead to severe complications. These include middle ear or lung infections and diarrhea, and more rarely, encephalitis. In addition, late complications can also occur after a measles infection.
The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) recommends vaccination against measles for all adults born after 1970 who have not been vaccinated against measles or who have only been vaccinated once against measles during childhood. It also recommends vaccination above all for all those who work in the health service, in community facilities (e.g. kindergarten) or in the care of people with a severely weakened immune system.
Good to know: According to the Measles Protection Act, parents must prove that their children have received the vaccinations against measles recommended by the STIKO from the age of one year before entering a community institution such as kindergarten or school. A booster vaccination later in life is usually not required.
The MMR vaccine is a live vaccine. The vaccination is given in the upper arm.
The vaccination is well tolerated. Often there is a reddening or swelling at the injection site, which may also hurt, due to the stimulation of the body's own defences. In the first three days after the vaccination, general symptoms such as a moderate increase in temperature, chills, headaches, faintness or gastrointestinal complaints may occur for a short time. Such vaccination reactions usually subside after one to three days.
Since it is a vaccination with live, attenuated viruses, about two to five out of 100 vaccinated people experience temporarily non-contagious "vaccine measles" one to four weeks after vaccination: This is typically accompanied by fever and a mild rash similar to measles. In addition, the parotid gland or testicles may swell and the joints may hurt. In adolescents and adults, prolonged joint inflammation has also been observed.
