Hokianga measles oubreak officially over

Northland District Health Board's public and population health unit can now officially declare the March outbreak of measles in the Hokianga clear, four months after the first notification of measles in late March.

Northland DHB's Medical Officer of Health Jonathan Jarman says measles lengthy incubation period has meant a nervous wait for health officials and it is with some relief we are able to declare the outbreak official over today.

"It usually takes a couple of months of no cases before you can be confident that you have controlled an outbreak of measles.  The last case in Northland was reported at the end of April."

There were a total of 32 cases reported.  31 cases were confirmed and one was probable.  This outbreak mainly affected unvaccinated children, most of whom were very unwell with one child being admitted to hospital. 

Case figures found within this media release relate to Northland cases only.  Measles cases that appeared to be linked to the Hokianga outbreak were also reported in Wellington and Brisbane, Australia.

Dr Jarman commended the health provider in Hokianga for their sterling efforts throughout the response, with the whole team stepping up to provide support, information and vaccinations for their community.

"Measles is a highly infectious disease that spreads quickly in groups of people who have no immunity.  Hauora Hokianga certainly put in the extra mile to follow up all the cases and to encourage people to vaccinate their children."

Dr Jarman said that practice nurses in other parts of Northland also made a special effort to vaccinate as many children as possible.

"Parents don't have to put up with really sick kids with measles anymore because it is a vaccine-preventable disease."

Measles has the potential to make children very sick, with the symptoms including high fever, hacking cough, red eyes, running nose and a rash.  A number of rash-causing illnesses can appear to be very similar to measles including meningococcal disease. 

Commonly referred to as the ‘miserable-measles', the best prevention is Immunisation. If you are worried about a sick child then check it out with your family doctor.  For more information, call your doctor or phone Healthline on 0800 611 116.

Symptoms of Measles:

• High Fever
• Hacking Cough
• Red Eyes
• Running Nose
• Rash
• Initially presents like a ‘cold' but then gets worse.
• Rash appears 3-4 days after initial symptoms
• Ear infections, diarrhoea, and/or pneumonia are common
• Most children take one to two weeks to recover
• Complications are more likely to occur in children who are under the age of five or in adults

The Immunisation Advisory Centre also offers independent advice about immunisation through its toll-free line 0800 IMMUNE (0800 466 863) and at its website http://www.immune.org.nz/.

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For further information, please contact:
Paula Martin, Communications Officer
Northland District Health Board 
Phone (09) 430 4101 ext 3321