August 30, 2019
Measles outbreak speeds up in Māori communities
A south Auckland doctor says people are lining up for measles shots as the extent of the epidemic becomes apparent.
There have been almost 1000 confirmed measles cases since the outbreak started in January, 501 of them in Counties Manukau.
Dr Rawiri Jansen from the National Hauora Coalition says at those levels the likelihood of severe cases that can lead to disability or death are increasing.
A measles carrier is contagious before symptoms appear, and it can be spread from coughs or sneezes.
Māori and Pacific people are more likely to get it because of household size.
"The outbreak came from overseas, probably landed in Christchurch and spread to Auckland and North Shore and West. Those were populations who were less vaccinated and weren't very Maori and Pacific but as soon as it got into the Pacific and Maori communities it spreads more because we live in situations where there are more of us in a household," Dr Jansen says.
Because of gaps in vaccination programmes in the 1990s, the people most at risk of spreading the disease and needing immunising now are in the 15 to 30 age group.
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