Pathology · single question
Koplik spots are pathognomonic for which infection?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Measles (rubeola)
- A. Scarlet fever (group A Streptococcus) causes strawberry tongue and pharyngitis, not Koplik spots.
- B. Rubella (German measles) produces a forchheimer sign (petechiae on soft palate) but NOT Koplik spots.
- C. Varicella causes oral vesicles/ulcers but not Koplik spots.
- D. Correct. Koplik spots — white, grain-of-sand–like spots on the buccal mucosa opposite the first molars — are pathognomonic for measles (rubeola). They appear 1–2 days before the classic morbilliform skin rash.