Health officials in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) state have issued a measles alert for northern Sydney after a confirmed case exposed people at several spots while infectious. This comes as measles cases rise across the country.
The person visited five locations in Sydney’s northern beaches area on September 25 and 27, including a supermarket, restaurant, cafe, and pharmacy. NSW Health says this individual was a close contact of another recent measles case in the same region.
If you were at those spots during the same times, stay vigilant for symptoms until mid-October. Watch for early signs like fever, sore eyes, and a cough, which can appear 10 to 14 days after exposure. A red rash often follows, starting on the face and neck before spreading to the rest of the body, including arms, legs, hands, and feet. Other early symptoms might include a runny nose, watery eyes, and small white spots inside the cheeks. The rash typically lasts five to six days.
Michael Staff, Director of Public Health for the Northern Sydney Local Health District, urges everyone to double-check their measles vaccination status. “This alert is a good reminder to make sure you’re protected,” he said.
Australia has seen a sharp uptick in measles. As of Thursday, the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System reported 130 confirmed cases nationwide this year—more than the total from the past five years combined. Most affected are adults aged 20 to 34 (64 cases) and young children aged 0 to 4 (17 cases).
Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads easily through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or breathes nearby. It starts in the respiratory tract and can lead to serious complications, especially in kids, including pneumonia, brain swelling, or even death. While it hits children hardest, anyone unvaccinated can catch it.
The best defense? Get the measles vaccine, which is safe, effective, and often combined with shots for mumps and rubella (MMR). Before the vaccine arrived in 1963, epidemics killed about 2.6 million people yearly worldwide. Even today, with vaccines widely available, around 107,500 people—mostly kids under five—died from measles in 2023.
If you spot symptoms or think you were exposed, contact your doctor right away and mention the possible measles link. Staying vaccinated helps protect you and keeps outbreaks from spreading in communities like northern Sydney.
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