This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

Measles is one of the most infectious viruses known. It spreads through the air when people infected with the disease cough or sneeze. Children in wealthier countries are usually vaccinated to protect against measles.

An international campaign called the Measles Initiative was launched in 2001 to vaccinate children in developing countries. The aim was a fifty percent reduction in deaths related to measles by 2005.

Last week, organizers of the Measles Initiative announced that the final numbers showed a 60 percent drop in deaths.

In 1999, the year used for comparison, there were 873,000 deaths. Six years later that number had dropped to 345,000.

The organizers say more than two million lives have been saved, mostly in Africa. Health officials report a 45 percent drop in deaths in Africa connected to measles.

Measles itself is usually not a direct cause of death. Deaths are commonly the result of infections like pneumonia or severe diarrhea. Those who survive can suffer brain damage, blindness or other disabilities.

The first sign of infection is usually a high body temperature for as long as a week. Patients may develop arunny nose, cough, red and watery eyes and white spots inside the mouth. After several days, a skin rash develops, first usually on the face and upper neck.

A case of measles can be just a mild and unpleasant part of childhood. But severe cases are more likely in children with poor diets or weakened defenses from conditions like HIV/AIDS.

Children under the age of five and adults over the age of twenty are more likely to suffer severe cases. People who recover from measles can never get it again.

The Measles Initiative includes the American Red Cross, the World Health Organization and UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund.

The campaign has cost almost 400 million dollars. Officials say about 500 million more will be needed to meet a new goal by 2010. The goal now is to reduce measles deaths worldwide to less than 10 percent of the rate in the year 2000.

The campaign will now center its efforts in Asian countries, especially India. Each year, about 100,000 Indian children die as a result of measles.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, written by Caty Weaver. I'm Mario Ritter.