Confirmed Measles Case - Auckland

Confirmed Measles Case - Auckland

Auckland has a new confirmed case of measles. Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) says the person visited several public places while they were infectious before being diagnosed.

ARPHS is asking members of the public who visited the following locations on the dates listed, to call their GP or call Healthline on 0800 611 116 if they have measles symptoms:

• K-mart - Manukau Supercentre – on April 9
• The Warehouse – Manukau Supercentre – on April 9
• Countdown supermarket - Airport Oaks – on April 9
• Middlemore Emergency Department – between 7pm April 12 and 11.30am April 13.

The initial symptoms of measles include a fever, running nose, cough and sore eyes. After about a week, a raised red rash spreads over the body lasting several days. Measles is a serious illness, says Medical Officer of Health, Dr Julia Peters, and there is no treatment.

“It is vitally important to call your GP or Healthline first because measles is a highly infectious disease,” says Dr Peters. “You can catch it just by being in the same room as someone with measles. It is spread through the air, and someone with measles could easily infect others in a doctor’s waiting room”.

It usually takes 10-14 days for someone who has caught measles to start showing symptoms. If anyone has been infected at the locations listed, they may start to develop symptoms from the April 19.

ARPHS is trying to find out where this person caught measles. The individual has not travelled overseas recently which means they caught the disease from someone in Auckland.

The person must have been exposed to someone else with measles between March 25 and April 4.

“We can confirm the individual became infectious on April 7 and will no longer be infectious from April 17” say Dr Peters. “ARPHS is carrying out contact tracing to help to combat the spread of the disease.

“The only way to avoid catching measles is to have had two measles vaccinations at least four weeks apart. Children are routinely vaccinated against measles at at 15 months and four years.”

Anyone who has had measles is considered immune, which applies to nearly everyone born before 1969. Anyone born in 1969 or later who has not had measles or two doses of the measles vaccine is at risk of catching the disease.

“If you are not sure if you are immune to measles you need to discuss this with your general practitioner.”

For more information on measles please see Auckland Regional Public Health Services website.

ENDS

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