Health professionals are urged to be alert for possible measles presentations after a case was reported in the State in early February.
The case was identified in a returned overseas traveller who mainly frequented the East Perth area.
The Department of Health is advising health professionals to be alert for cases of the viral infection, especially among returned overseas travellers, and to ensure all staff consider measles when patients have a febrile rash.
General practices and emergency departments should ask about recent travel when assessing acute illness, according to the Department,
People presenting with measles-compatible illness at reception or triage should be provided a mask and isolated immediately.
Consultation rooms used in the assessment of patients with suspected measles should be left vacant for at least 30 minutes after the consultation.
The virus survives for fewer than two hours in the air, and on objects and surfaces. It is inactivated quickly by sunlight and heat.
Health professionals should consider testing patients presenting with a fever and rash for measles. Suspected cases should be immediately reported to be local Public Health Unit.
While the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination is recommended for children at 12 months of age, and the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine for children at 18 months, vaccination rates have been declining.
Recent data from the National Communicable Disease Surveillance Dashboard show only 89.6% of WA children aged under two were up to date with all of their scheduled vaccines, well below the national benchmark of 95%.
Vaccination rates across the state were lowest among children under two who lived in country WA, with just 84.6% up to date with immunisations. In some areas, it dropped as low as 80% in the same age group.
Vaccination rates for MMR were as low as 83% among one-year-olds in the Gascoyne region and 87% in some southern areas of the State.
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Measles-containing vaccines are also recommended for teenagers or adults who have not received two doses of measles vaccines, healthcare workers, childcare workers, people working in care facilities and people working in correctional facilities.
Free MMR vaccines are available to people susceptible to measles even if they are not eligible for Medicare.
Patients planning overseas travel should be up to date with all routine vaccinations and consider receiving additional travel vaccinations.
Measles can develop between seven and 18 days after being exposed to the morbillivirus virus.
If someone has visited an exposure location during the specified dates and times, they need to monitor for symptoms between seven to 18 days after the visit.
The Department advises that several countries are experiencing measles outbreaks and people travelling to these countries are at risk if they do not have immunity to the measles virus.
More information on the at-risk countries can be found here.
The full list of exposure locations from 3 to 7 February is:
- Department of Health’s East Perth office
- 3 Quarters Topped Up Cafe
- Royal Street Barbers
- RAC Arena (Drake concert)
- GP after-hours clinic at Armadale Community Health and Development Centre.
More information is available of the Department of Health’s website.
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