I have even heard of parents arranging measles parties, where young children are sent to visit others who have measles in order that they catch it. This is going back to the immediate post World War 2 era when immunity was gained by catching the disease. I was brought up in the 1950s and early 1960s and remember mumps parties and German measles parties so that children would be immune to these diseases as adults, but not measles parties.



Measles kill, so we never had measles parties. In fact back in the 1940s and 1950s it was a major killer. In England alone 5,677 children died in the 1940s. Nobody wanted their kids to catch measles back in these days. I have read that measles parties were common then, but I never came across one. We were always told to keep away from anyone who had measles – at least until they went back to school. Some never went back.

Measles is still one of the major causes of death in children worldwide (over 600,000 have been reported) and it is almost as contagious as smallpox. Children have around a 99% chance of contracting the disease if they come into contacted with an infected person. The main cause of death in around 60% of measles cases is pneumonia.

In part two of this article, I will explain the symptoms and in what order they can be expected, to help parents who are unsure what they should do or when to call a doctor.