Click on the links below to find out more about Measles, Mumps and Rubella and the MMR Vaccine.

What are Measles, Mumps and Rubella?
What are the symptoms of these diseases?
How common are these diseases in Australia?
If these diseases are not very common in Australia “Why should my child get vaccinated?”
What is the MMR vaccine?
How does the vaccine work?
How effective is the vaccine?
Why are children given two doses of MMR?
When should my child be immunised?
What should I expect after my child receives the MMR vaccine?
What about separate vaccines?
Is there any proof of a link between autism, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and the MMR vaccine?
What are other Australian parents doing?

What are Measles, Mumps and Rubella?

Measles, mumps and rubella (also known as German measles) are infectious diseases that are caused by three different viruses. They are spread when the viruses are passed from an infectious person to someone who is not immune to them.

What are the symptoms of these diseases?

What are the symptoms of Measles?

Measles is the most serious of the three diseases. It is a highly infectious illness.

Common symptoms include: fever; rash; ear infections; diarrhoea; runny nose; loss of appetite; cough; and red painful eyes. Children who get measles usually have to spend about 5 days in bed and have 10-14 days off school, if there are no serious complications.

Serious complications include: pneumonia; hospitalisation; convulsions or fits; inflammation of the brain (encephalitis); and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a late complication of measles, which causes progressive brain damage and is always fatal.

Even in countries such as Australia, previously healthy children can still die from measles especially if they catch measles when they are very young. In the 1993–4 measles outbreak in Australia, four children died from measles.¹

In 2001 the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that there were 745,000 deaths worldwide from measles.⁷

What are the symptoms of Mumps?

Mumps is less contagious than measles. Mumps is usually a mild disease in children.

Common Symptoms include: painful and swollen glands in the cheeks, neck or under the jaw; fever; mild headaches; abdominal pain; and loss of appetite in 7 out of 10 people. These symptoms usually go away within 10 days or so.

Serious Complications include: pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas); inflammation of the brain (encephalitis); and partial or complete deafness. Adolescent boys may experience painful, swollen testicles, which very rarely causes infertility. Mumps may cause spontaneous miscarriage during the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.

What are the symptoms of Rubella?

Rubella, which is also known as German measles, is usually a mild disease. However, rubella can have serious consequences for children and pregnant women. Rubella infection will normally last for 48–72 hours.

Common Symptoms include: fever; swollen glands; joint pain; and a red rash around the ears and neck.

Serious Complications include: Congenital rubella: If a woman has rubella during the first 3 months of her pregnancy, the virus almost always causes serious birth defects in her unborn child including deafness, blindness, heart problems and mental retardation.

Other Complications include: inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and a tendency to bleed or bruise (thrombocytopenia).