Health Update: Measles threat

MEASLES in pregnancy can result in miscarriage and premature birth and also endanger the mother, say researchers from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. In a study of 58 pregnant women who caught measles, they found that one- third of pregnancies ended in spontaneous abortion or pre-term delivery. The results, published in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, also showed that pregnant women were six times as likely to die from measles complications as those who were not pregnant. Pregnant women who come into contact with measles should be immunised within six days, they say.