Travellers to Bali urged to get measles vaccination after second case in Cairns confirmed
Queensland health authorities have confirmed a second case of measles in Cairns as they urge travellers to Bali to get vaccinated.
The latest case is a close contact of a person who was diagnosed with measles last week after travelling to Cairns from Bali, the ABC reports.
"There's a number of measles outbreaks at the moment in south-east Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, including Bali," Cairns Public Health Unit director Jacqueline Murdoch told the ABC.
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"If anyone is going to these places over the school holidays or in the upcoming months, please see your GP and make sure you have sufficient immunity to measles.
"We don't want anyone bringing measles back to Cairns and spreading it in our community."
Health officials have urged the public to be on alert for symptoms, particularly if they were at the following locations at these times:
Mad Monkeys Waterfront backpackers, Saturday, September 6 — Wednesday, September 10
Rufus Restaurant, Saturday, September 6 (3pm — 10.30pm)
Cairns GP Superclinic, Wednesday September 10 (11.30am — 12pm)
The city's latest confirmed case of measles is a close contact of someone who was diagnosed after arriving in Far North Queensland from Bali.
Cairns Public Health Unit director Jacqueline Murdoch said there would be a "couple of hundred" close contacts.
"This case was an unvaccinated contact of our case from last week and we do expect further cases in this outbreak," she said.
Measles is a highly infectious virus that is spread by coughing and sneezing or through direct contact with secretions from the nose or mouth.
The illness usually starts with symptoms similar to the flu and can include fever and tiredness.
The onset of symptoms can begin 7-10 days after contact with an infected person but can sometimes take as long as three weeks.
People who have been vaccinated against or previously contracted measles are very unlikely to contract the disease.
Babies are routinely vaccinated against the measles at 12 months of age through the National Immunisation Program.
People most at risk of contracting measles are those who have a weakened immune system, or those born during or after 1966 and who have not had two doses of the measles vaccine, or people who have not been infected with measles before.
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