The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has verified a sixth measles incident in the region. It failed to provide any supplemental specifics. Since the year’s start, there has been one fatality due to measles – a man contracted the disease in Birmingham, UK, and passed away last month in Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Current disease outbreaks in Europe and the UK have heightened measles cognisance amongst Irish medical staff.
A standard treatment for measles is two doses of a vaccine usually administered when one is 12 months and again at four to five years of age. However, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has stated that infants visiting outbreak zones can be inoculated from six months, requiring an additional dose after 12 months for enduring safeguard.
In response to an increase in measles incidents, the HSE is implementing a catch-up programme for the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. Dr Lucy Jessop, HSE National Immunisation Office’s director, warns that measles is highly contagious, resulting in severe and acute infection. It spawns symptoms like rash illness, cough, runny nose, conjunctivitis and high fever. Complications arising from measles may lead to ear infections, pneumonia, febrile seizures, rare instances of encephalitis (brain inflammation), and occasionally death.
The MMR vaccine is the only protective measure against measles, requiring two doses to be effective. If a child or a young adult is not completely immunised, MMR vaccines can be procured from GPs or HSE Vaccination Clinics. The HSE’s campaign concentrates on administering the MMR vaccine to specific demographics, like young adults, children, and healthcare professionals, who may have missed their vaccines in the past.
Measles symptoms manifest differently in individuals, including runny nose, sneezing, and cough, alongside sore red eyes, temperatures above 38 degrees, and an initial rash around the head and neck area.