SA Health Announces Adelaide Measles Warning After Two Recent Cases

A recent alert from SA Health has confirmed two cases of the Measles disease in metropolitan Adelaide.

Measles is incredibly infectious. That means if your little one isn’t immune, sending her off to daycare, school, sports practice, a friend’s birthday party, the local park or just about anywhere where there are other people puts her at risk. Sound scary? Well, that’s because measles is scary. That said, it’s preventable – through the use of vaccinations.

How can you or your child get measles?

The disease is spread through respiratory droplets, according to the Department of Health. So, every time that little neighbor girl coughs all over you or your child’s BFF sneezes on her at school, those teeny tiny droplets are moving the disease from one person to another. Not only is the illness spread in this supremely simple way, but it can survive on an unwashed surface for up to two hours. That means just because you don’t see a sick person nearby that the disease isn’t lingering. Don’t start glancing around, looking for kiddos with that tell-tale blotchy rash, a cough or a runny nose. A sick child or adult could have left the disease for you, without you ever knowing it.

The recent cases include a 45-year-old man in metropolitan Adelaide who had recently returned from Thailand and a 21-year-old woman who had just come back from Bali. The infected patients were in and around the area from Monday 29^th August, 2016 through Thursday 8^th September, 2016.

SA Health has a full list (on their website) of each and every place these two moved during the incubation period.

Where did these patients go?

The list includes:

Adelaide Airport
Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne
Coles supermarket (Gawler Green Shopping Centre, Evanston Gardens)
Woolworths Caltex station (Evanston)
Australia Post (Willaston)
Gawler Hospital
Hyde and Partners Medical Centre
Adelaide Hills Medical Clinic
Finders Medical Centre

Again, the SA Health website has the complete list of dates and times detailing when these patients were in each place.

Keep in mind, the symptoms of measles don’t show up right away. It’s not like you inhale those little droplets and immediately break out in a red rash. It takes anywhere from 10 to 14 days after infection to show symptoms. The rash typically starts out on the face and neck. It then moves all over the body. Instead of having to avoid going out in public (do you really want to keep the kids in 24-7?), vaccination is an easy option for controlling the spread of the disease.

If you or your child has any symptoms of measles, call your medical professional immediately. Only a doctor (and, this does not include a medical website) can diagnose and treat measles.