English measles scaremongering

[magical1]

http://www.3news.co.nz/Home/Story/tabid/209/articleID/90139/cat/41/Default.aspx

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Hundreds possibly exposed to English measles in Wellington

Health authorities in Wellington have issued a public alert after fears that hundreds of people might have been exposed to English measles.

A baby with the infection flew on an international and a domestic flight, then visited two health centres in Wellington, before being diagnosed.

The baby was too young to have been vaccinated.

English measles are rare, highly infectious and potentially fatal.

"It's a very serious illness," says Dr Annette Nesdale, Regional Public Health.

Wellington public health officials are concerned a number of people could be infected because they were in contact with a baby who caught the disease in Vietnam.

"People who have got it have a high temperature, they are really quite miserable," says Dr Nesdale. "It's not a pleasant illness and there can be complications like ear infection, pneumonia or sometimes neurological damage."

Passengers on flights from Vietnam to Singapore, or Singapore to Auckland on the January 29, and those on a flight from Auckland to wellington on the January 30 may have been exposed to the disease. There is also a risk patients who visited Wellington Hospital's emergency department or the Karori Medical Centre between the Febraury 1 and 4 may have been infected.

Measles is spread by infected people coughing and sneezing, and patients are most contagious when they have got the early symptoms before the rash can be seen.

"High fever, runny nose, sore red eyes and cough, that's when people are most infectious, which is one of the most important things," says Dr Nesdale.

People born before 1969 are considered protected from the disease because measles was common when they were growing up. Those born after 1969 will be protected if they have had two doses of the MMR vaccine, or have had the illness before.

Medical professionals say if you are showing symptoms to contact your doctor. They say it is important to ring ahead so you are not in a waiting area where you could put others at risk.

3 News

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

So, this baby, presumably, didn't die or have problems, right?

And since when do we hear about measles cutting down swathes of Vietnamese?

[magical1]

Do you think I should be worried about being at the New World opposite the Karori Medical Centre on those dates? :)

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

Do you think I should be worried about being at the New World opposite the Karori Medical Centre on those dates? :) No, because no car ran you over :p

[magical1]

Ha bloody ha!

:ROFL:

[grandma of 4]

:eyeroll:our local paper run an article yesterday that a family of 4 children in dunedin have measles and advise parents to vacc there children as we have an Epidemic in the area What the :bangshead:

[Seaweed]

I was looking thru the ODT online for something else & I found this

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/42810/039irresponsible039-measles-decision-angers-mother

Would not one think that if the vax really was 95-97% effective there would be nothing to worry about from their point of view ?

[Momtezuma Tuatara]

You would. But it would appear that Dunedin has a group of women who fit the old-fashioned description of irrational hysterics.... but can't see it, or they would be embarrassed that their lack of thought was put slap bang into the newspaper... ... Plainly she needs an injection of common sense...