"I brought measles back from my trip as a souvenir. Traveling is my job, I'm a tour guide, and we were in Morocco," Metsla said, who despite being vaccinated years ago was one of three people in Estonia who contracted measles this year.

The illness began with a severe headache, which she initially attributed to a stressful week. "We had celebrated my two children's birthdays at home. Since I had another trip coming up soon, I took paracetamol just in case, to avoid getting sick," she recalled on TV show "Ringvaade."

"Typical symptoms of measles include coughing, runny nose, fever, and eye sensitivity, but at first, I had none of these," Metsla outlined.

When a rash appeared on her neck, she initially thought it was an allergic reaction: "Measles starts in the head area. That evening, I developed a high fever, and by morning, I looked quite awful. My face was very swollen, puffy, and covered in spots. My chest was also full of spots."

The next day, she went to her family doctor, where several doctors examined her. As a precaution, she was given an allergy shot, which should have alleviated symptoms within two hours if it was an allergic reaction.

"In reality, things got worse. Then I was sent to the infectious diseases emergency department. By the time I arrived at the hospital, the rash had spread to my thighs. The biggest discomfort was on my face, it was burning. My measles symptoms fully developed while I was in hospital isolation. I started coughing, and for a while, I lost my vision. That was terrifying because I feared it might be a complication, but fortunately, it wasn't."

Metsla had been vaccinated against measles long ago. "But that was years ago," she added. "Having measles is the worst experience I have ever gone through in my life."

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