ERHA warns of risk of measles outbreak

The Eastern Regional Health Authority has launched a campaign to encourage parents to have their children vaccinated against measles.

The ERHA Director of Public Health, Dr. Marie Laffoy has warned that a measles outbreak in the eastern region is a very real possibility.

She said that to protect the community against measles the uptake of the MMR vaccine should be 95% yet the uptake is as low as 50% in some areas in the east.

This means that there are large numbers of children in the region who are unprotected against measles.

Children over the age of 12 months should receive this vaccine and it is available through the General Practitioner.

In its campaign, the ERHA Department of Public Health is particularly targeting children in playgroups and creches.

Dr. Laffoy is contacting those who run crèches and playgroups in the region asking them to encourage all parents to obtain the MMR vaccine for their children.

She said that measles can be a very serious illness. It is caused by a virus. It causes a cough, runny nose, sore throat, a rash and a high temperature.