Sydney health authorities on high alert after sixth measles case confirmed

Sydneysiders are being urged to ensure they are fully vaccinated against measles with a sixth person diagnosed in the state in the past month.

A Sydney woman aged in her 40s has now been isolated and is recovering from the infection after winding up in the emergency department at St George Hospital on Saturday.

However, she did visit several locations around Sydney while infectious.

The South Eastern Sydney Local Health District has issued a list of those locations and warned those who may have come into contact with the woman to be alert for the symptoms of measles.

She visited the following areas between March 31 and April 7 while infectious:

- Saturday, March 31, 10.45-11.30am: Coles supermarket at Ramsgate

- Easter Sunday, April 1, 1.30-3.30pm: Doyles restaurant, Watsons Bay

- Wednesday, April 4: Rozelle Childcare Centre, Lilyfield

- Friday April 6, 1.30-2.30pm: Kogarah Railway Medical Centre

- Friday April 6 2.30-3pm: Terry White Chemmart in Kogarah

- Saturday April 7, at around 1.30pm: St George Hospital Emergency Department

As with other recent cases, the woman developed measles while travelling in Asia.

Two babies were taken to Westmead Children’s Hospital with measles after returning from trips to south Asia last month.

The warning for Sydney comes as south Brisbane faces a measles outbreak in the midst of Commonwealth Games celebrations on the nearby Gold Coast, with another case confirmed yesterday – the fifth in just three weeks.

Measles is highly infectious and can be spread through the air by someone who is unwell with the disease.

One of the problems with containing the infection is the lengthy time between when a person is exposed and when they begin to feel ill, which is typically around 10 days but can be as long as 18 days.

Consequently, authorities are urging people who visited the above locations to remain alert for symptoms until April 25.

MEASLES OUTBREAK WORRYING AS COMMONWEALTH GAMES GETS UNDERWAY

Symptoms include fever, sore eyes and a cough followed by a non-itchy rash a few days later, while the fever is still present.

Measles can have serious complications, especially for young children and those with weakened immune systems.

The latest Annual Immunisation Coverage Report shows vaccination rates in NSW are at the highest level on record, with more than 94 percent of five-year-olds vaccinated against measles.

However, adults between the ages of 20 and 40 may have missed out on the full vaccination program, which was changed in 1998, according to Acting Public Health Director South Eastern Sydney Local Health District’s Dr Catherine Bateman-Steele.

“Anyone born after 1965 who does not have records of receiving two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, or evidence of previous measles infection, may be susceptible to measles, and should visit their GP to have the free vaccination,” she said.

The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is available for free for those aged 1 to 52 at local GP surgeries.

“If you are unsure whether you have had two doses, it is quite safe to have another dose,” Dr Bateman-Steele said.