September 05, 2019
Slow build to measles outbreak
A south Auckland general practitioner says the country is paying now for low immunisation rates around the turn of the century.
The number of measles cases is approaching 1000 since the outbreak started earlier this year, with most of them being in the Counties Manukau District Health Board area.
Dr Rawiri Jansen says 15 or 20 years ago the vaccination rate for Māori was 57 percent and for Pākehā about 65 percent, which means a huge number of the adult population now are not immunised.
He says if people have any doubts about their immunisation status they should get vaccinated at their GP or at one of the clinics popping up for that purpose, as people can become infected without knowing it.
"The signs we would see would be pretty mild to start with, a bit of fever maybe, a bit of conjunctivitis, sore eyes, maybe some cough, and then over a few days they get worse and then the rash shows up, so the rash comes rather late. You can be spreading this infection before you know it's measles so it's a bit tricky," Dr Jansen says.
While measles is a mild illness for most people, it is especially dangerous for babies or people with some other immune deficiency illness, and it can lead to disability or death.
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