Koplik spots are pathognomonic for which disease?

Koplik spots are pathognomonic for which disease?

• A. Rubella
• B. Varicella
• C. Measles
• D. Hand-Foot-Mouth disease

Answer: (C)

Koplik spots are an early, highly specific sign of measles. They appear as small bluish-white lesions on a reddened buccal mucosa, usually opposite the molars, and show up during the prodromal period before the characteristic rash. This makes them a strong diagnostic clue for measles, since rubella, varicella, and hand-foot-mouth disease do not produce Koplik spots. Rubella tends to have milder fever with a pink maculopapular rash, varicella shows vesicles in crops across the body, and hand-foot-mouth presents oral ulcers with vesicles on the hands and feet. So the presence of Koplik spots points to measles.

Koplik spots are an early, highly specific sign of measles. They appear as small bluish-white lesions on a reddened buccal mucosa, usually opposite the molars, and show up during the prodromal period before the characteristic rash. This makes them a strong diagnostic clue for measles, since rubella, varicella, and hand-foot-mouth disease do not produce Koplik spots. Rubella tends to have milder fever with a pink maculopapular rash, varicella shows vesicles in crops across the body, and hand-foot-mouth presents oral ulcers with vesicles on the hands and feet. So the presence of Koplik spots points to measles.