Golden Bay measles case confirmed
A man diagnosed with measles in Golden Bay has led public health officials to encourage people to check their vaccination status.
Public Health Medicine Specialist and Clinical Director Dr Stephen Bridgman said the man recently attended the Golden Bay Community Health Centre and lab results confirmed he had measles.
The centre is currently contacting all people who may have been exposed to measles that day and will offer vaccination to people at risk.
The Nelson Marlborough Public Health Service confirmed the case was likely to be connected to four other cases of measles in the South Island, one in Queenstown, one in Wanaka and two in Christchurch. Of those, three people were unvaccinated.
Bridgman said the immunisation status of the person with the disease was under investigation.
Public Health Service staff have contacted general practices and pharmacies advising vigilance and for the appropriate infection control procedures to be put in place. Nelson Marlborough Health was part of a South Island regional response to the outbreak.
In October, the Ministry of Health declared that measles, along with rubella, had been officially eliminated from New Zealand as no new cases had originated here in the past three years, though travellers from overseas still catch the diseases regularly, and bring them back in.
Bridgman said measles was highly infectious.
‘‘Measles can spread to others in a waiting room. This is why it is important, if you have measles symptoms, to call your GP or Healthline first before going to your doctor or medical centre.
‘‘This is why vaccination is so important – we need a 95 per cent vaccination rate in our region to prevent outbreaks.’’
Bridgman said people born before 1969, and those who have had two doses of the MMR vaccine were almost-certainly immune to measles.
‘‘People who have definitely had measles in the past are also immune.
‘‘But, if in doubt, check with your doctor.’’ In Wednesday’s edition of the Nelson Mail we ran a story about Zoe Palmer, pictured, and her campaign to save CAMHS, Nelson’s after-hours specialist youth mental health service.
Unfortunately the image that ran with the story was incorrect.
We apologise for the error.