Waikato measles cases a false alarm — children not infected

Two Waikato children thought to have caught measles are not infected.

Te Whatu Ora health officials confirmed the positive case of measles reported on April1 did not have measles as first suspected, after further testing.

The child had symptoms of measles and initial testing indicated a positive measles infection. The second probable case of measles also returned a negative result.

The updated test results showed there were no known cases of measles in the community.

Regional clinical director Dr William Rainger said both children were recovering well and were continuing to be supported by healthcare services,

“I would like to acknowledge and thank the affected wha¯nau. They did the right thing by calling Healthline for advice as soon as they were concerned for their children’s welfare. Through this family’s quick thinking and full co-operation from them and identified close contacts health services were able to manage the situation efficiently and reduce the risk for others.”

Measles is a serious and highly contagious illness, which can affect adults as well as children and babies.

“With New Zealand being at high risk of a measles outbreak and our vaccination rates too low to prevent that from happening, our national and regional public health service teams must take any suspected case of measles very seriously.

“They responded rapidly to initial testing results and took appropriate actions to ensure close contacts were identified and people in the local community were notified of their potential increase in risk.”

The best protection against measles is two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine — this provides lifelong protection in 99 per cent of people, Te Whatu Ora said.

The MMR vaccine is free for anyone aged 18 and under, and those over the age of 18 who are eligible for free healthcare in New Zealand.

Being immunised not only protects you but also those around you from becoming seriously ill and from spreading the disease to others.

Contact your doctor, nurse, pharmacy or healthcare provider to book a vaccination appointment. Measles, flu, Covid-19 and whooping cough vaccines (for ages 13 and over) can be booked online through Book My Vaccine.