Sydney, Feb 28 (IANS) A health alert has been issued over a local outbreak of measles in Australia’s second-most populous state.
Authorities in the state of Victoria on Thursday night said that an outbreak of measles has been identified in the state after detecting two new cases who were likely infected in metropolitan Melbourne.
The Victorian Department of Health said that the two cases had no history of overseas travel or known contact with other measles patients.
It said that the two people travelled to multiple locations in Melbourne and the regional city of Bendigo, 130 kms northwest of Melbourne, between February 19 and 26, including shopping centres, swimming pools, medical facilities and major hospitals.
The department has released a full list of the exposure sites and times. Anyone who visited the locations at the same time has been advised to monitor for symptoms of measles until mid-March.
“Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can spread from person-to-person and potentially lead to serious health complications including pneumonia and brain inflammation,” Tarun Weeramanthri, Victoria’s chief health officer, said.
He urged healthcare professionals to be alert for measles in patients with fever and rash, particularly those who have recently returned from overseas or attended one of the listed exposure sites.
There have been eight reported cases of measles in the state in 2025, Xinhua news agency reported.
Measles infects the respiratory tract and then spreads throughout the body. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose and rashes all over the body.
Being vaccinated is the best way to prevent getting sick with measles or spreading it to other people. The vaccine is safe and helps your body fight off the virus.
Before the introduction of measles vaccine in 1963 and widespread vaccination, major epidemics occurred approximately every two to three years and caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year.
An estimated 1,07,500 people died from measles in 2023 – mostly children under the age of five years, despite the availability of a safe and cost-effective vaccine.
–IANS
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