Measles case sparks warning
PUBLIC health officials are urging Tasmanians to check their measles vaccinations are up to date after the state’s first confirmed case since 2016.
Public health director Mark Veitch said an East Coast man started to feel “mildly unwell” about a week after returning from South-East Asia on October 7.
Dr Veitch said the patient was admitted to the Royal Hobart Hospital within one day of the measles rash appearing.
The diagnosis was confirmed by an urgent test on October 20.
PUBLIC health officials are urging Tasmanians to check their measles vaccinations are up to date after the state’s first confirmed case since 2016.
Public health director Mark Veitch said an East Coast man started to feel “mildly unwell” about a week after returning from South-East Asia on October 7.
“Measles has an incubation period of around two weeks,” Dr Veitch said.
“This is the time between contracting the infection and becoming ill with symptoms.
“People become infectious to others one or two days before their early symptoms start. The man was not infectious during his flights or transit though airports.”
Dr Veitch said the patient was admitted to the Royal Hobart Hospital within one day of the measles rash appearing. The diagnosis was confirmed by an urgent test on October 20.
Dr Veitch said Public Health Services had worked with healthcare providers to give advice and immunisation to those in contact with the man.
“This public health response reduces but may not completely eliminate the risk of a further case,” he said.
“All people born during or after 1966, and aged 12 months or older, need to have had two doses of a measles-containing vaccine to be sure they are immune.”
Under the National Immunisation Program, all children are given a combined injection at 12 months and a booster dose at 18 months, which protects them from measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.
Dr Veitch said people travelling overseas, including those returning home to visit family and friends, should speak with their doctor to ensure they have received two doses of the measles vaccine.
He said those working in healthcare, childcare, longterm care and correctional facilities should also check their measles immunisations.
More than half of the 81 cases of measles in Australia this year involved people aged between 20 and 44.
People born before 1966 do not need the vaccine as they would have likely developed immunity in early childhood.
Measles is a highly infectious viral illness with symptoms that include fever, cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis and a rash. It can cause severe complications, including ear infections, pneumonia and brain damage.