Measles (Bouhamroun): Recognising the Symptoms and Protecting Your Child

Three days of high fever, a runny nose, a dry cough and red eyes that water in the light. You think of a bad flu. Then, behind the ears and on the forehead, red patches appear and spread to the neck and the rest of the body. Measles, bouhamroun in Moroccan Arabic, has come back to Morocco with the 2023-2025 outbreak, and many parents are discovering its symptoms for the first time.

It is a viral illness, one of the most contagious there is, and it is nothing like a minor childhood complaint. Here is how to recognise it, what to do if your child catches it or has been near someone who has, and the signs that should make you call 141.

What are the first symptoms of measles?

Measles starts 7 to 14 days after contact with the virus, the World Health Organization (WHO) explains. It unfolds in two stages.

The early phase lasts 4 to 7 days. It looks like a bad cold:

• high fever;
• runny or blocked nose, sneezing;
• cough, often dry;
• red, watery eyes that are bothered by light;
• small white spots inside the cheeks, called Koplik spots, which last a few days.

The rash appears 3 to 5 days after these first signs. It starts on the face, the upper neck and behind the ears, then moves down the whole body over about three days. The spots are slightly raised and join up into patches. They itch little and last 4 to 8 days. On brown or black skin, the UK's NHS warns, they are harder to see: they take on a dark red to brown shade.

Other illnesses combine fever and spots in children, most often harmless ones. To compare measles with roseola, chickenpox, scarlet fever or hand-foot-and-mouth, see our guide to spots and fever in babies.

Why is measles so contagious?

Because the virus travels through the air. It spreads by coughing, sneezing and simple breathing, and it stays active in the air or on surfaces for up to two hours after the sick person has left, according to the WHO. A single sick person can infect up to 18 other unprotected people.

A sick person is contagious from 4 days before the rash starts until 4 days after. In other words, they pass on the virus during the days when it still looks like a cold. That is what makes those around them so vulnerable: brothers and sisters, nursery friends, babies too young to be vaccinated, pregnant women.

What complications are possible?

Most children recover in about two weeks, but measles can be serious. The WHO lists:

• pneumonia and severe breathing problems;
• encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain;
• severe diarrhoea with dehydration;
• ear infections;
• eye damage, up to blindness.

Complications are more common in children under 5, in adults over 30, and in children who are undernourished, vitamin A deficient or have weakened immunity. During pregnancy, measles carries a risk of miscarriage, premature birth or a low-birth-weight baby. Worldwide, it still caused around 95,000 deaths in 2024, mostly in children under 5.

The measles outbreak in Morocco: where do things stand?

The outbreak started in September 2023 in the Souss-Massa region before spreading to all twelve regions of the country. According to the report published by the WHO on 13 May 2025, between 1 October 2023 and 13 April 2025 there were:

The peak was reached at the end of January 2025, then cases fell for ten weeks in a row. In early March 2025, the Ministry of Health still recorded 2,481 new cases in one week, according to Hespress, and extended the national catch-up campaign to 28 March 2025. More than 10.7 million children's health records were checked during this campaign.

We have not found a more recent consolidated official report at the time of writing (October 2026). For the current situation in your area, ask your health centre or check the Ministry's website, sante.gov.ma.

My child has been in contact with a sick person: what should I do?

First open their health record and check their doses of the measles and rubella (RR) vaccine. Then act quickly, because time matters.

1. They are not vaccinated, or a dose is missing: contact the health centre or your doctor without waiting. The Ministry of Health manual provides for vaccinating contacts with no proof of vaccination, ideally within 3 days of the contact. Even later, vaccination protects for the future.
2. They are between 6 and 9 months: in case of contact or an outbreak, the vaccine can be given from 6 months, according to the same manual.
3. They are under 6 months, you are pregnant, or the exposed person has weakened immunity: ask for quick medical advice. The WHO indicates that immunoglobulins can be given within 6 days to those who cannot be vaccinated.
4. Watch for fever, cough or red eyes over the following two weeks. No quarantine is planned for contacts in Morocco, but if symptoms appear, the child stays at home.

Everything about the vaccine itself, the ages and catch-up is detailed in our article on measles vaccination and its two doses, and all the appointments in the national immunisation schedule. Keep the record at hand in a health record holder: you will be asked for it at the health centre.

My child has measles: how do I look after them and for how long should I keep them apart?

There is no specific treatment for measles, the WHO points out: care aims at the child's comfort and at preventing complications. The Moroccan manual provides for care at home, except in the event of complications.

• Offer drinks often and light meals, in small amounts.
• Bring the fever down if it bothers them: ask the doctor or pharmacist for the medicine and the dose suited to their weight.
• Clean their eyes with cotton wool soaked in boiled, cooled water, as the NHS advises.
• Let them rest in a quiet room, with dimmed light if they are bothered by it.
• Vitamin A: in children, the WHO recommends two doses, given by the doctor or health centre. Never give it yourself.
• Antibiotics: only for a secondary infection, on prescription.

How long at home? In Morocco, the Ministry of Health manual sets school exclusion at at least 5 days from the start of the rash (rule in force in October 2026, check with your health centre). The United Kingdom says at least 4 days. During this period, avoid any contact with pregnant women, infants and unvaccinated children around you. For other contagious illnesses and their nursery rules, see our guide to common childhood illnesses.