The measles, mumps and rubella-containing vaccine administered during childhood is considered the best defence to reduce future outbreaks. Photo / NZME
The measles, mumps and rubella-containing vaccine administered during childhood is considered the best defence to reduce future outbreaks. Photo / NZME
Low immunisation rates in Northland tamariki have health professionals worried about the possibility of a local deadly outbreak.
The recent case of measles involving a person in Australia is a timely reminder of the importance of keeping up-to-date with your vaccinations, says Te Whatu Ora rural, family and community general manager Jeanette Wedding
“Outbreaks of measles in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the USA have increased the risk of an imported case to New Zealand,” Wedding said.
The Ministry of Health warned that New Zealand passengers on a flight in January from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne may have been exposed to measles.
A case of measles in a person who is in Australia has been linked to the flight.
Preventative health measures like child immunisation suffered worldwide during the Covid-19 pandemic and were worsened by an increase in anti-vaccination sentiment and the spread of vaccine misinformation.
The measles virus was spread through the air by infected droplets or by direct contact with secretions from the nose or throat of infected persons, for example, by touching contaminated items or surfaces, Te Whatu Ora community paediatrician Dr Ailsa Tuck said.
The virus can survive for up to two hours in the air.
Te Whatu Ora Community Paediatrician Dr Ailsa Tuck said a measles outbreak is only a plane ride away. Photo / Supplied
“This is an important reminder that a measles outbreak is only a plane ride away. Our immunisation rates in our tamariki are too low at the moment, so an outbreak locally could be devastating for New Zealand,” Dr Tuck said.
New Zealand eliminated endemic measles in 2017, having had no sustained transmission of the disease for longer than a year since 2014. The last positive case reported in New Zealand was in early 2020.
The 2019 measles outbreak saw more than 2000 cases recorded nationwide, two unborn babies dead and hospitalised more than 700 (mostly children) in South Auckland.
Disaster followed when the virus spread from New Zealand to Samoa, where it killed more than 70 people, primarily children.
A $26 million catch-up measles campaign targeted at 300,000 at-risk young adults hit just 7 per cent of its target, the Herald reported last year.
This low success rate saw $8m worth of vaccines - 320,000 in total - destroyed.
Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) is part of the National Immunisation Schedule and involves a two-dose vaccination course.
Children aged 12 months and 15 months are eligible for their free MMR vaccine – as is anyone born in New Zealand from January 1, 1969 without two documented doses of measles-containing vaccine received after age 12 months.
You can get your free Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine at many pharmacies or your local medical centre.
To find one nearby that does, visit www.healthpoint.co.nz and type ‘MMR vaccine’ into the search box to see a list of pharmacies around NZ that provide this service.
It’s also important that people with symptoms don’t visit their GP or after-hours clinics but instead phone their family doctor/GP team for advice to limit further exposure to other people, according to Te Whatu Ora.
In the first instance, contact Healthline on 0800 611 116 for advice if symptomatic and for advice on where to get vaccinated.
