Measles also can cause pneumonia, brain damage, seizures or death. Before the vaccine became available, nearly every child developed measles and measles caused hundreds of deaths in the United States every year. Immunization has sharply decreased the number of children getting measles in the U.S. and Illinois. In 1996, there were only three cases of measles reported in the state. The mumps virus causes fever, headaches and swollen salivary glands under the jaw.
Mumps also can result in permanent hearing loss.
Serious complications also can result when adults or teenagers, particularly males, get mumps. The rubella virus usually causes mild sickness with fever, swollen glands and a rash that last about three days. But, if a pregnant woman gets rubella, she can lose her baby, or the baby can be born blind, deaf, mentally retarded or with heart defects or other serious problems. The vaccine is combined with those for measles and for mumps. An infectious disease spread by bacteria or germs that live in the mouth, throat and nose of an infected person, diphtheria is easily passed to others through coughing and sneezing.