HSE warns of measles outbreak in asylum seeker accommodation

The risk assessment from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre said the lowest rates of vaccination were in Counties Louth and Meath where immunisation rates were below 80% while uptake of below 85% was reported in Counties Sligo, Leitrim, and Donegal. File picture: Getty Images

A HSE risk assessment warned of a high risk of measles spreading in asylum seeker accommodation and direct provision centres as uptake for the vaccine across Ireland was described as “sub-optimal”.

A presentation from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said healthcare services were likely to come under significant pressure from the highly transmissible disease, which was very likely to cause outbreaks in non-immune populations.