Measles is a serious and highly infectious illness
What is Measles?
Measles is a very infectious viral disease that starts with a high fever and respiratory symptoms (one or more of the following: runny nose, cough, red eyes and small white spots inside the mouth). Three or four days after catching measles a red blotchy rash appears, starting on the neck and face, then spreading over the entire body. The rash is not itchy and fades during the first week. A person with measles looks and feels unwell and about 10% need admission to hospital.
Measles is more serious in young infants and in older adults, as well as people with low immunity. Measles is also more serious in children who are malnourished, especially in those who are low in vitamin A.
Complications
About one in three people with Measles will experience: ear infections, pneumonia, croup, bronchitis or diarrhea. Measles in malnourished children, especially in those who are low in vitamin A, may result in blindness.
Serious nervous system complications also occur, but are very rare. These include acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE).
How is Measles spread?
Spread of measles can occur from coughing and sneezing or through contact with nose or throat mucus. It is important to always cover your mouth with coughing or sneezing and to use a tissue that you throw away after use. Good cleaning and hand washing practice will also help stop the spread of measles.
When will symptoms appear?
It will usually take about 10 days (range 7 to 18 fays) for symptoms to start showing after someone has caught measles, and the rash usually appears about day 14.
Someone with measles can pass the illness onto others for about 10 days, starting from 5 days before the rash until about 4 days after the start of the rash.
ARPHS recommends that anyone with measles stay away from work, school, childcare, and places where large groups of people gather, so that they do not spread measles. Talk to your doctor about exact dates to be kept way from work or school.
Prevention
The only way to prevent infection with measles is to vaccinate with MMR vaccine. A single dose of MMR vaccine given at 12-15 months will provide immunity to over 90% of recipients. A second dose will increase the immunity level to about 99%.
Overseas Travel
The high amount of measles worldwide means increased risk of bringing measles into New Zealand.
The recent measles outbreak in Auckland (489 cases) was started with an unimmunised child, who became infected on a family trip to England, then developed measles when back in Auckland.
Worldwide, there has been a resurgence of measles. In Europe (a common destination for New Zealanders) over 30,000 cases were notified in both 2010 and 2011 while in Australia (also a common travel destination) there have been 89 cases of measles confirmed from January to August 2012, 71 of them in New South Wales.
Anyone travelling overseas, whether a child, teenager or adult should know their immunisation status before they leave. Where there is any doubt, immunisation with MMR vaccine is recommended prior to travel.
Measles Fact Sheets
For all of ARPHS most recent media updates on Measles Click here
Additional Information for Schools & ECEC Services
2011/2012 Outbreak Information
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service can confirm that the outbreak officially ended 24 July 2012
- 489 confirmed or probable cases of measles
- 82 of those cases have required hospitalisation
- Statistical information about this measles outbreak (PDF, 145.51KB)
These figures are from 25 May, 2011, until 24 July 2012 when the outbreak in the Auckland region ended.
Useful links
Ministry of Health
Immunisation Advisory Centre (IMAC)
Ministry of Education
Healthpoint
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Downloads
- What is measles (PDF, 130KB)
- Information for people with measles (PDF, 60KB)
- Measles information for contacts (PDF, 78KB)
- Immunisation/MMR (PDF, 66KB)
- High risk people (PDF, 62KB)
- Health Professional Advice (PDF, 86.7KB)
- Primary Care Measles Notice (PDF, 624KB).
- Measles template letter for schools (PDF, 162KB)
- Measles template letter for schools (Microsoft Word, 267KB).
- measles outbreak (PDF, 145.51KB)
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