WA Health has urged those planning to travel overseas in the Christmas school holidays to ensure they are fully protected against measles, following two more recent cases.<\/p>\n
One case has been recorded in an adult who is a returned overseas traveller from Vietnam, and the other is a young child who is a household contact.<\/p>\n
Exposure sites are concentrated to the Bunbury area. Those who visited the sites, listed below, should monitor for symptoms for seven to 18 days post-exposure.<\/p>\n
The two recent cases brings the total to 56 this year, most of which have been in the Perth metro area (29), followed by 13 in the South West, 10 in the Pilbara, two in the Wheatbelt and one each in the Mid West and Great Southern.<\/p>\n
Communicable Diseases Control director Paul Armstrong said it was a timely remind for people planning overseas travel to check they have receive two doses of the measles vaccine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an ongoing risk of measles being brought into WA from overseas, especially from popular holiday destinations in south and south-east Asian countries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeasles can cause serious illness, particularly in young infants, and often requires hospitalisation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are fortunate to have the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine which is extremely effective and free to all Western Australians.\u201d<\/p>\n
Symptoms of measles include fever, fatigue, runny nose, red eyes as well as a cough, which is followed several days later by a prominent red rash.<\/p>\n