Easter travel breaks could lead to widespread measles outbreak, warns expert

Dr Michael Hanrahan said the vaccine uptake in Ireland 'could be better'.

The risk of a widespread measles outbreak will be heightened in the coming weeks with increasing international travel over the Easter break, a leading public health doctor has warned.

There are now nine confirmed cases in Ireland, including one outbreak of connected cases, with ten more under investigation, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said.

Dr Micheal Hanrahan urged young adults and parents of young children to attend free walk-in MMR vaccine clinics running around the country or see their GP.

“We are at risk of an outbreak, especially coming into the Easter period, when there might be a lot more travel between Ireland and the UK and other parts of Europe that have outbreaks of measles,” he warned.

“That’s why we would encourage people to ensure they are vaccinated before they travel.” 

The specialist registrar in public health medicine asked people to be aware of the symptoms of the extremely contagious disease so they can act quickly.

The UK Health Security Agency said they identified 59 new cases in the week between March 14 and March 21 in England. 

Numbers remain low in Northern Ireland with only two cases reported this year.

However, Dr Hanrahan cautioned people need to remain aware as measles is not a seasonal illness.

The vaccine uptake in Ireland “could be better” he said, particularly among young people.

Across Europe, 3,507 cases were confirmed in the month up to March 16, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said.

However, they said overall “measles transmission currently remains low". 

Symptoms

Dr Hanrahan said initial symptoms can include a cough, fever, and red rash.

“Phone your GP first so you can be safely assessed and then tested,” he advised.

“We are still seeing the consequences of being complacent with vaccines. You have then pockets of communities with low vaccine uptake and then it allows something like this to spread.

"If we can get everyone vaccinated who is able to be vaccinated, we will give ourselves the best chance of not having outbreaks.

“If you’re not sure if you’re vaccinated or not, you can still attend this vaccine clinic and it won’t be of any harm to get an extra dose by mistake,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UK health authorities have also warned that cases of travel-associated dengue and malaria as well as Zika are returning to pre-pandemic levels across the region.