Public urged to get MMR vaccine as Northern Ireland sees increase in measles cases

The public is being urged to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) as it confirmed that a number of linked cases of measles have been identified in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust area.

The number of cases in Northern Ireland has risen to 10.

The disease can spread easily if people do not have their MMR vaccine, and it can be fatal is some cases.

The PHA is urging children and young adults who have not received both doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to do so as soon as possible, to reduce their risk of catching and spreading measles.

The agency has recently activated a mass vaccination drive in collaboration with health trusts and GP surgeries for all those aged between 12 months and 25 years who missed getting one or both of their MMR vaccines first time round.

Louise Flanagan, Consultant in Public Health at the PHA, spoke to CoolFM/Downtown exclusively: “Measles is a very serious infection, in some cases it can be fatal. We want to try and increase vaccination rates of the MMR vaccine to try and reduce the risk of this spreading and causing further infections”.

“For some people it may just be a mild illness, but mainly in children, you will end up with a very severe illness.”

"It spreads very easily among those who aren’t vaccinated. In the UK and Europe there’s been a 30-fold increase in measles cases in the last few months. We have thankfully seen very few cases here but there has been an increase. There have also been cases in the Republic of Ireland as well so the concern is these will continue to spread.”

“Unfortunately, childhood vaccination rates have dropped. Because of that there are more people susceptible that can get the infection and therefore it can easily spread.”

“It has been happening across Europe, so we have seen this increase associated with this drop in vaccination rates, so in some ways it is expected. We have been planning for this and have been doing a lot of preparation work. At the moment, we have one off cases, we don’t want it to get any wider than that and start spreading in the community. But that can very easily change.”

The initial symptoms of measles can include:

• a high temperature (fever).

• a runny or blocked nose.

• sneezing.

• a cough.

• sore, red eyes that may be sensitive to light.

• a few days later, a red-brown blotchy rash will appear. This may start on the head or upper neck, before spreading outwards to the rest of the body.

The PHA say most childhood rashes are not measles, but you should consult your GP without delay if:

• you suspect it is measles.

• symptoms worsen.

• temperature increases to above 38°C.

• temperature stays high after other symptoms have gone.

For information on the MMR vaccination catch-up programme, see www.nidirect.gov.uk/mmr-catch-up

For further information on measles see www.nidirect.gov.uk/conditions/measles