Measles scare at city daycare

A Rotorua daycare centre has taken steps to stop the potential spread of measles because it believes a child was diagnosed with the disease.

Parents of children at ABC Monokia have been told to be alert for symptoms, after a child attending the centre was understood to have been diagnosed with measles and another two were sent home with suspected measles.

Toi Te Ora Public Health says there have been no confirmed cases of measles in the Lakes District Health Board area, which includes Rotorua and Taupo, since an outbreak at the beginning of the year.

Kidicorp chief operating officer Fiona Hughes said one child was excluded from the centre in mid-June with measles, while there was another suspected case a few days later and another yesterday. They were waiting for results of tests.

In the meantime, medical information had been sent home to all the parents about measles and what to look out for. Ms Hughes said the centre had also had a special "viral clean" to help prevent the risk. Ms Hughes said they were asking parents to keep a watch for symptoms and to keep their children home if unwell.

Medical officer of health Neil de Wet said any measles diagnosis had to be confirmed with laboratory tests and the public health service was automatically notified if those tests came back positive.

He said there were no confirmed cases in the Rotorua area at the moment, although several people had been tested for suspected cases which had then come back negative. Dr de Wet said there were "quite a few" viral illnesses that had similar symptoms to measles.

However, with the measles outbreak in Hamilton now reaching 95 confirmed cases, Dr de Wet said it was a good opportunity to make sure immunisations were up to date to make sure the illness did not spread to Rotorua.

"We are aware of the large outbreak affecting schools in Hamilton and very aware that we could have a similar outbreak here."

He said with the school holidays approaching, people would be travelling, which increased the risk of spread, so they should make sure their immunisations were up to date.

Children receive two doses of the MMR vaccine, one at 15 months and one at 4 years. He said it was never too late for those who had not been immunised to catch up.