You Are a Nurse Serving as a Medical Volunteer in a Refugee

You are a nurse serving as a medical volunteer in a refugee camp. Due to extreme poverty, political instability, and displacement, most individuals at the camp have not received any preventative medical care, including vaccinations. While providing care to a young woman in about the fourth month of pregnancy, she mentions that several children, including her toddler, suffered from a mild illness last month. Her toddler had a low fever, a runny nose, and a rash that started on his face then moved downward. The illness resolved quickly in all the children. What illness might the children have had and why should you be concerned?

A) measles; the children may be more susceptible to other infections
B) rubella; the unborn child of the exposed mother may be stillborn or suffer from birth defects
C) hand, foot, and mouth disease; the virus may re- activate at a later time
D) rubella; it is a mild, self- limiting disease so there are no further concerns
E) measles; the child may develop shingles at a later time