Measles Alert Issued After Teen Contracts Potentially Deadly Disease

A measles warning has been released South Australia after a 15 year old girl contracted the potentially deadly disease.

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, one that a South Australian family is currently facing after their teenage daughter was recently diagnosed with a case of measles.

The girl visited a number of north-east locations while infectious, apparently acquiring the disease while in South East Asia.

Specific exposure sites include: 

Measles is highly contagious among people who are not fully immunised, and can be contracted by other people up to 30 minutes after an infected person has left the area.

Anyone who isn’t fully immunised or who was in the locations at the times listed in the image below should be alert for symptoms over the next few weeks and see a doctor if they become ill.

People with measles are infectious for several days before they develop symptoms. If you believe you have measles symptoms, contact your doctor before you visit so precautions can be taken to avoid spreading disease to others.

What to watch for:

Symptoms of measles

First symptoms include fever, tiredness, cough, runny nose, sore red eyes and feeling unwell. A few days later a rash appears. The rash starts on the face, spreads down to the body and lasts for 4-7 days. The rash is not itchy.

People with measles are usually infectious from just before the symptoms begin until four days after the rash appears. The time from exposure to becoming sick is usually about 10 days. The rash usually appears around 14 days after exposure.

What are the risks?

• Up to a third of people with measles have complications. These include ear infections, diarrhoea and pneumonia, and may require hospitalisation.
• About one in every 1000 people with measles develops encephalitis (swelling of the brain).

More information about measles:https://goo.gl/B8kawS 

More health alerts: https://goo.gl/gSDgI3

For more information on the measles outbreak in Victoria, please see our previous article on measles outbreaks as well as current health warnings. 

Measles is not the only illness plaguing Victoria. A grieving father is urging parents to be vigilant for signs of the flu after the influenza death of his eight-year-old daughter.