Mum upset at lack of measles alert

The mother of a 12-year-old girl who contracted measles at a gymnastics competition says health authorities should have informed parents of the outbreak.

The girl, a student at Diocesan School in Epsom, was among a group from the North Harbour Gymnastics Club who attended a competition in Christchurch recently.

The mother, who did not want to be named, said parents were not told of a measles outbreak in Christchurch before the trip.

It was not until the group - with several of the girls' parents - had arrived that they were informed that a child from Christchurch who was in the competition had come down with measles.

The woman, who also has a daughter at primary school, said health authorities should have let parents know of the outbreak in Christ-church.

She said if she had known about the potential risk, she would probably not have let her children attend the competition.

"As far as we're concerned, we've heard reports that it can be quite a potentially - it is quite scary - deadly disease.

"With measles you don't know until the spots come out - you just think it's the normal cold."

The woman said many in the family's small community, Devonport, knew that her daughter had come down with the disease.

But it was important to stress that she contracted the measles from Christchurch and not from anyone at the North Harbour club.

She has now recovered.