Three new cases of measles have been confirmed today, bringing the total number of cases to eight – with one of the new cases from the Manawatu. The other two new cases are in the Wairarapa.

All the new cases are connected to recent cases in the Wairarapa, linked with travel overseas, and all went into quarantine as recommended. However, on further review, it was found that one of the cases may have been infectious for a brief period beforehand.

“Although the case did everything right as advised by public health services, because they unexpectedly developed symptoms sooner than usual, we’ve taken a cautious approach by going back to check any locations they may have visited just before going into quarantine,” says Dr Craig Thornley, National Public Health Service Medical Officer of Health. 

“That’s identified six new locations of interest in Feilding where the case visited on Friday 11 July while potentially infectious. However, as these visits were brief and occurred within a small window, just as with the Wairarapa case locations, the wider risk to the public is considered low.

“We are however advising anyone who may have visited the Feilding locations at the same times as the case to monitor themselves for symptoms, such as a high fever, cough, runny nose, sore eyes or a rash that spreads down the body.”

Locations of interest can be found here: https://info.health.nz/conditions-treatments/infectious-diseases/about-measles/measles-locations-of-interest-in-aotearoa-new-zealand (external link)

“If anyone is concerned, they may have symptoms, or needs advice, they should contact their GP or usual healthcare provider or call Healthline on 0800 611 116 for free support and advice 24/7,” Dr Thornley says.

Measles symptoms usually start within 10 to 14 days after being first exposed to the virus, but can start anytime between 7 to 21 days. The rash develops 3 to 4 days after the other symptoms and appears as pink or red spots or bumps which start on the face before moving down the rest of the body. The rash is not usually itchy, but can last for a week or more. Another key feature of measles is that a fever is still present when the rash develops

Dr Thornley says the recent cases highlight that New Zealand remains at high risk from measles outbreaks, particularly from non-immune travellers bringing the highly contagious disease back into New Zealand, where our lower immunisation rates mean we lack the required herd immunity to keep everyone safe.

“The best form of protection against measles is to get vaccinated with two doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine after 12 months of age, which is safe and effective for 99 per cent of people.”

People are considered immune if they’re known to have had measles before, or are confirmed to have had two doses of the MMR vaccine after a year old. People born or living in New Zealand before 1969 are considered likely to be immune as most were infected with measles during childhood.

For people living in the Wairarapa and Manawatu regions, there are a number of pharmacies and clinics offering MMR vaccinations. These can be found by visiting the Healthpoint website (external link) and searching by region and vaccination type, specifically ‘measles mumps andrubella’.

For Wairarapa locals, a drop-in clinic at Masterton Intermediate School Dental Clinic is also running every Thursday from 3pm to 6pm.