Nine suspected measles cases reported in Ireland, data shows

"HSE public health teams, along with the HSE Measles National Incident Management Team (IMT), are taking all necessary public health actions in relation to the case," the Health Surveillance Protection Centre said in a statement.

There have been nine suspected measles cases in Ireland up to February 3, new data from the Health Surveillance Protection Centre (HSPC) has revealed. 

It comes as the HSPC confirmed that a 48-year-old man died on Wednesday in the first confirmed measles case in Ireland in 2024.

HPSC data published on Wednesday — before the death of the man was confirmed — shows that of the nine suspected measles cases in Ireland, seven have been recorded in children aged under four with two further suspected cases in those aged five to nine.

The data covers the year up to last Friday. Three of the suspected cases are in the HSE East region of Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare, with a further three suspected cases in HSE Midlands, which covers Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath.

There is one suspected case in Cork and Kerry, which make up HSE South.

Five of the suspected cases have been recorded in boys, with a further two suspected cases in girls.

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While none of the suspected cases are confirmed as of yet, the HPSC believe two of them are 'probable', with the other seven 'possible' cases.

There were four measles cases reported in Ireland in 2023, two cases reported in 2022, no cases were reported in 2021 and five cases were reported in 2020. There were no deaths reported in any of those years.

There had been fears that the disease would reach these shores following outbreaks across Europe, including in France and England.

The HSE had already formed a Measles National Incident Management Team (IMT) due to those outbreaks.

It is understood that the man who passed away was from Westmeath and had been at an event in Birmingham in the last few weeks where he may have caught the virus.

"HSE public health teams, along with the HSE Measles National Incident Management Team (IMT), are taking all necessary public health actions in relation to the case," the health authority said in a statement.

Speaking to reporters in Chicago, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that he was “very concerned” about the situation, and he said that “lasting damage” had been done by campaigns linking measles with autism.

“In fact, when I was Minister for Health in 2003, 2004, we had a problem with measles,” he said. “At that time there was a huge campaign under way against the MMR vaccine, which proved to be spurious at the time. Anti-vaccine campaigns have consequences. And it seems to me there’s a lower level of immunity now in the country in terms of the measles.” 

Mr Martin said Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly would review this with the chief medical officer, but said that a media campaign should be undertaken highlighting the importance of the MMR vaccine.