The only part i didn't like about german measles was being quarantined!
Measles can be prevented by the combination MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. In the decade before the measles vaccination program began, an estimated 34 million people in the United States were infected each year, of whom 400500 died, 48,000 were hospitalized, and another 1,000 developed chronic disability from measles encephalitis. Widespread use of measles vaccine has led to a greater than 99% reduction in measles cases in the United States compared with the pre-vaccine era, and in 2012, only 55 cases of measles were reported in the United States.
However, measles is still common in other countries. The virus is highly contagious and can spread rapidly in areas where vaccination is not widespread. It is estimated that in 2008 there were 164,000 measles deaths worldwidethat equals about 450 deaths every day or about 18 deaths every hour.
http://www.cdc.gov/measles/vaccination.html
My brother, sister and I all had measles, mumps and chicken pox. I remember being so sick with mumps and the room had to stay dark, though I never knew why. So glad there are vaccines now.