Measles can be a serious in all age groups.

However, children younger than 5 and adults older than 20 are more likely to suffer from measles complications, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Common ComplicationsCommon measles complications include ear infections and diarrhea.• Ear infections occur in about one out of every 10 children with measles and can result in permanent hearing loss.• Diarrhea is reported in fewer than one out of 10 people with measles.Severe ComplicationsSome people may suffer from severe complications, such as pneumonia (infection of the lungs) and encephalitis (swelling of the brain). They may need to be hospitalized and could die.• As many as one out of every 20 children with measles gets pneumonia, the most common cause of death from measles in young children.• About one child out of every 1,000 who gets measles will develop encephalitis (swelling of the brain) that can lead to convulsions and can leave the child deaf or mentally retarded.• For every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die from it.Measles may cause pregnant woman to give birth prematurely, or have a low-birth-weight baby.There are also long-term complications, including a rare, fatal central nervous system disease, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. SSPE results from a measles virus infection acquired earlier in life, and generally develops seven to 10 years after a person has measles, even though the person seems to have fully recovered from the illness.