Western Australia’s measles outbreak has grown to eight confirmed cases, with authorities warning the number will likely continue to grow.
Three more cases were confirmed by the Department of Health’s acting director of communicable diseases, Paul Effler, on Sunday.
Two of those cases were from the Bunbury Regional Hospital exposure site, joining two previously confirmed cases in health care workers.
The other new case has been confirmed in one of the state’s prisons.
Hakea Prison in Perth and Bunbury Regional Prison were both on the list of exposure sites.
“We had several more confirmed cases over the weekend which isn’t completely surprising,” Dr Effler said.
Dr Effler said the number of cases was expected to grow in coming days.
“The bad news is that measles is really infectious, in fact it may be the most infectious disease known to humans,” he said.
“But the good news is that it’s totally preventable.
“Our immunisation rates are really high at about 90 per cent but because measles is so infectious, you need to have about 95 per cent of people fully vaccinated.”
He said people aged between 30 and 60 years old should check their vaccination history to make sure they have had two rounds of the measles vaccine.
Contact tracing challenges
The original source of the outbreak has not yet been identified,
Dr Effler said the timeline of when symptoms appeared meant it would be a challenge.
“People are infectious to others the day before they realise they are getting sick, and then they are infectious for the entire time before they develop the rash,” Dr Effler said.
He said most people who became infected would not need medical help due to the high vaccination rate in the community.
“But for some people the infection in their lungs can be so serious they can have difficulty breathing,” he said.
What happens if you catch measles?
- Symptoms typically begin with fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes, and a sore throat. A few days later, a rash appears — usually starting on the face or neck— before spreading across the body. The rash generally lasts for up to a week.
- Measles can lead to serious complications, such as pneumonia (a lung infection) and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).
- Adults and young children are more likely to develop complications than older children and adolescents.
- Around 1 in 15 children with measles develops pneumonia, while 1 in 1,000 develops encephalitis.
- Of the children who develop measles-related encephalitis, 1 in 10 dies and up to 4 in 10 may suffer permanent brain damage.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Don’t fear exposure sites
The Department of Health has listed more than 40 exposures sites across Perth and the South West in the past three weeks.
Dr Effler said there was no need for people to fear the locations.
“When we list the exposure suites it isn’t the place which is contaminated,” he said.
“People don’t need to fear going to those grocery stores, GP clinics or hospitals based on those prior exposures.
“Once that infectious individual has left the area, within 30 minutes or so the is no longer a risk.”
Also read: Health experts warn of measles resurgence amid vaccination concerns
