Ireland: Measles 2009/2010

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Source: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/measles-alert-as-cases-on-increase-1922452.html

Measles alert as cases on increase



By Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent

Friday October 23 2009

Parents have been urged to ensure their children are vaccinated against measles after a number of outbreaks of the disease across the country.

Since January, 63 cases of measles have been notified nationally, 12 of whom were hospitalised. This compares with a total of 55 for all of 2008.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC)
said the worst hit areas are the south, south east and west, with a large number of cases among members of the Travelling community.

"Measles can be a serious and potentially fatal illness and children who have not been vaccinated are particularly at risk of measles during this time," warned HPSC specialist in public health medicine Dr Suzanne Cotter.

Travellers

"The outbreak in the HSE south, HSE south east and the HSE west, is predominantly affecting young children and teenagers from the Traveller community.

"The majority of notified cases have been in the one-- to four-years age group, but cases have also been reported in children less than one year of age and teenagers. The oldest case reported was 33 years of age. No deaths have occurred and none of the confirmed cases were vaccinated", she added.

Dr Cotter pointed out that this is the second outbreak affecting Travellers in 2009, following a family outbreak earlier this year.

"Measles is a highly infectious disease; one in 20 will get pneumonia; one in a 1000 will get encephalitis; one or two in a 1000 will die.

"Parents need to check their child's immunisation records and see if their child received two doses of MMR.

"MMR given to a child within 72 hours of exposure to measles may prevent measles," she said.

- Eilish O'Regan Health Correspondent

Irish Independent

 

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Re: Ireland: Measles 2009

Re: Ireland: Measles 2009

Source: http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=16488

Measles vaccination strongly urged

[Posted: Tue 24/11/2009 by Joanne McCarthy]

Parents have been urged to ensure their children are vaccinated against measles following a national outbreak of the disease, which has left a child severely ill in hospital with pneumonia as a result of measles.

According to the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), there are real concerns about spread among non-vaccinated individuals.

?Eleven cases have been reported to date in November, bringing the total to 75 so far this year. This compares to 50 for the same period in 2008. Eighteen people have been hospitalised with measles this year and no deaths have been reported. One case has required intensive care treatment and ventilation for severe pneumonia,? said Dr Suzanne Cotter, HPSC specialist in public health medicine.

Most cases of the measles are in children under 10, and 30% of cases occur in children aged between one and two. A majority of cases this year have occurred among children from the Traveller community.

?Measles is highly infectious and can cause severe illness and occasionally cause death. An outbreak in 2000 resulted in more than 1600 cases and three deaths. As vaccination with the MMR is the only way to prevent measles infection, all parents must make sure their children have received the recommended two doses of the vaccine. While the first dose is usually given at 12 months of age by GPs and the second in school at 4-5 years of age, the vaccine can be received at any time,? said Dr Cotter.

 

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Re: Ireland: Measles 2009

Re: Ireland: Measles 2009

Source: http://www.herald.ie/national-news/get-your-child-the-measles-jab--parents-urged-1958886.html

Get your child the measles jab - parents urged
By Fiona Dillon

Monday November 30 2009

Parents are urged to get their children vaccinated against measles after 11 new cases were revealed.

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said that it now has been notified of 86 cases so far this year.

The outbreak of the disease has predominantly occurred in three HSE regions, but there have been cases in other areas, an HPSC spokesperson said.

Measles is on the increase this year, with 55 cases occurring for all of last year.

The last large measles outbreak in this country occurred in 2000, when more than 1,600 cases were reported and there were three measles-associated deaths.

On Thursday, the HSE confirmed that six suspected cases of measles had occurred in children and teenagers in Galway city over the course of a week.

It said that five of those affected had been admitted to hospital.

The HSE said: "Measles is usually a childhood infection and is most common in children aged between one and four years old, who have not been immunised.

"But you can catch measles at any age.

"Measles is caught by direct contact with an infected person, or through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes."

It pointed out that measles is usually a mild illness, but it can cause serious complications, including pneumonia, diarrhoea, seizures, brain damage and in some rare cases even death.

Dr Diarmuid O'Donovan said that the most important part of controlling an outbreak of measles was to ensure that there is a high level of immunity in the population.

"Measles can be prevented by immunisation with a highly effective vaccine that is part of the MMR immunisation."

He said that the vaccine is given free by GPs to babies between 12 and 15 months and a second dose is now given when children begin school at aged four to five years.

encouraged

In order to prevent outbreaks, at least 95pc of children should be immunised, experts said.

Around 87pc of children in Ireland have had the first dose of MMR by the age of two years.

Dr James Reilly, the Fine Gael spokesperson on Health, has also urged parents to vaccinate their children.

The HPSC said parents must check their child's immunisation records to see if their child received two doses of MMR.

GPs are encouraged to provide all parents with hand-held immunisation records, so that parents can keep track of vaccines received.

fdillon@herald.ie

- Fiona Dillon

 

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Re: Ireland: Measles 2009

Re: Ireland: Measles 2009

Source: http://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/20136

Parents urged to get children vaccinated as measles cases surge
Galway Advertiser, December 17, 2009.

By Mary O?connor

The HSE West is urging parents to make sure their children are vaccinated against measles in the wake of an outbreak of the condition in Co Galway.

Some 22 cases have been reported in ages ranging from babies to 21-year-olds since the end of October.

Dr Diarmuid O?Donovan, the HSE West?s director of public health, says it is advising parents whose children have not been immunised to get them vaccinated as soon as possible to prevent the spread of the disease.

?The most important part of controlling an outbreak of measles is to ensure that there is a high level of immunity in the population. Measles can be prevented by immunisation with a highly effective vaccine that is part of the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) immunisation.

?This vaccine is given free by the GP to babies between 12 and 15 months and a second dose is now given when children begin school (age four to five years). MMR vaccination is also recommended for children aged 11 to 12 years. This can be omitted, however, if two previous doses of MMR have been given.?

One dose of MMR gives 90 per cent protection against measles and the second dose gives 98 per cent protection. The uptake of the first dose of MMR vaccine among children in Ireland is measured at 24 months and the most recent national figures show that 90 per cent of children aged 24 months have received the vaccine. The uptake of the MMR vaccine at 24 months in the HSE West region is currently at 90 per cent.

One case of measles can infect 15 to 20 unvaccinated people. A vaccine uptake rate of at least 95 per cent with two doses is required in order to give ?herd immunity?. This greatly reduces the risk of exposure to infection for any unvaccinated individuals (eg, babies under 12 months of age) and for people who are immunosuppressed.

Measles is an infection caused by the measles virus. It is usually a childhood condition and is most common in children aged between one and four years who have not been immunised. However, you can catch measles at any age. It is caught by direct contact with an infected person or through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Measles is usually a mild illness but it can cause serious complications including pneumonia, diarrhoea, seizures, brain damage and death. The infection is not common in Ireland because of immunisation. In the outbreak affecting more than 1,600 children in Ireland in 2000 most cases occured in the east of the country - three children died. In 2007 55 cases were notified to health authorities.

 

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Re: Ireland: Measles 2009

Re: Ireland: Measles 2009

Source: http://www.imn.ie/index.php/current-issue/news/2892-national-measles-outbreak-continues-to-escalate

National measles outbreak continues to escalate
Written by Priscilla Lynch Tuesday, 12 January 2010 17:29


The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) has warned that the recent national measles outbreak is continuing to escalate.

During 2009, 144 measles cases were reported (latest figures). This compares to 51 for the same time period in 2008. Of the 144 cases reported in 2009, a consistent increase has been noted since last September; 96 cases were reported since September, compared to 17 for the same time period the previous year.

The majority of cases have never had an MMR vaccine.

As previously reported by IMN, the outbreak is disproportionately affecting the Traveller community, with the majority of cases reported since September originating from this group.

Cases that have occurred amongst non-Travellers are mostly linked to the area where the outbreak is occurring (school, healthcare setting or community). At least four cases (two healthcare workers and two child patients) appear to have been acquired in the healthcare setting.

GPs and hospital services throughout the country have been alerted to the outbreak, writes the HPSC in its publication EPI-Insight.

National MMR vaccination rates at 24 months are currently 89 per cent. ?Although this is a higher uptake than previously reported, it is clear from this outbreak that pockets of population with high levels of immunosusceptibility exist around the country. Urgent efforts are needed to identify these children and young adults in particular who may have missed both routine and catch-up MMR vaccination in previous years,? stated the HPSC.

It urged opportunistic vaccination of such children, particularly Traveller children and recommended all healthcare workers (both clinical and non-clinical) to have either serological proof of immunity or evidence of having received two doses of MMR to prevent further spread of this disease.

 

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Re: Ireland: Measles 2009/2010

Source: http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/ireland/hse-warns-of-measles-outbreak-in-south-443378.html

HSE warns of measles outbreak in south
25/01/2010 - 11:48:06

The HSE is warning about an outbreak of measles in the south of the country after 26 children were struck down by the illness in counties Cork and Kerry in just the first few weeks of the year.

That compares with just five cases for all of 2008.

The HSE is advising parents to ensure their children are immunised against the potentially fatal disease.

Many of those recently infected had not been vaccinated with the MMR jab.

Source: http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=16768

Measles outbreak in Cork, Kerry

[Posted: Mon 25/01/2010 by Deborah Condon]

Parents in the south are being urged to ensure their children are properly immunised, following a recent outbreak of measles in Cork and Kerry.

According to the HSE South, the outbreak has particularly affected children who have not been vaccinated with the MMR (measles mumps rubella) vaccine. It pointed out that last year, there was a significant increase in measles cases in Ireland, with 165 cases, compared to 55 in 2008. That increase was most noticeable in Cork and Kerry with 53 cases last year, compared to just five in 2008.

In the first two weeks of 2010 alone, 15 children in Cork and 11 children in Kerry are known to have contracted the disease...

 

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Re: Ireland: Measles 2009/2010

Source: http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Limerick-parents-urged-to-have.6044705.jp


Limerick parents urged to have children vaccinated after measles outbreak
Published Date: 05 February 2010
By Anne Sheridan

PARENTS across Limerick are being urged by health authorities to ensure that their children receives the MMR jab following a rise in the number of measles cases since last September.

mid fears of a major outbreak across the country, the HSE said there were 13 confirmed cases of measles locally in the past month. The Department of Public Health has been notified of a further eight suspected cases in Limerick.

Of the 21 cases in the Mid-West, a number of people have required hospital admission, but most have been managed at home.

Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, the party's spokesperson on Health, has called for a major campaign highlighting the importance of the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) jab.

"Measles is a very worrying disease and I am especially alarmed by the very high number of cases which have been diagnosed in the past month alone. I am calling on parents to ensure they have their children vaccinated at the first opportunity. It can be a relatively mild disease, but it can also lead to severe complications and prove fatal," said Deputy O'Sullivan.

In the first three weeks of this year, 88 cases were reported nationally, compared to 55 in the whole of 2008. Fifteen of the cases this year were aged less than 12 months.

A HSE spokesperson said there had been a national outbreak of measles since last September, "mostly among children who have not been vaccinated with MMR, and particularly among Travellers."

Nationally, one-in-10 cases has required hospital care.

The HSE is encouraging parents to ensure that their children have been vaccinated with MMR, and are also encouraging GPs to offer the MMR vaccine to all unvaccinated children who present to them.

Symptoms of measles include high fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes (conjunctivitis) and a red rash that starts on the head and spreads down the body. Children are infectious from four days before to four days after rash onset. Unvaccinated children are most affected. The vaccine dose is usually given at 12 months of age and protects about 95 per cent of children. A second dose is routinely given at four to five years of age and ensures that 99 per cent of vaccinated children are protected.

"It is important that all suspected cases are reported to the Department of Public Health as soon as they present so that the appropriate control measures can be put in place, if necessary," advised the HSE.

Meanwhile, the swine flu vaccination programme is moving into its final phase, with the vaccine being made available to the general population through HSE clinics nationwide. Anyone in the target groups who has not yet been vaccinated is advised to attend a HSE clinic for their vaccine before March 31. In addition, anybody who has not yet been offered the vaccine may now attend a HSE clinic for swine flu vaccine.

To date, approximately 800,000 people have been vaccinated and are now protected from any future swine flu circulation.

Page 1 of 1

* Last Updated: 05 February 2010 8:59 AM
* Source: Limerick Leader City Editio
* Location: Limerick

 

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Re: Ireland: Measles 2009/2010

Source: http://www.independent.ie/national-news/children-hardest-hit-in-new-measles-outbreak-2061795.html

Children hardest hit in new measles outbreak
By Katherine Donnelly

Saturday February 13 2010

CHILDREN under five have been the main victims of a measles outbreak sweeping the country, which has hospitalised one in three of those affected.

There has been a 43-fold increase in the number of recorded cases in the first six weeks of this year, when compared with the same period in 2009.

Two sufferers of the highly infectious disease, which can cause severe illness and, occasionally, death, have required intensive care treatment.

Children and teenagers have taken the biggest hit and, unusually, there has also been a small number of cases in the over-30 age group.

Now schools and colleges have been advised to be on the alert for symptoms in both pupils and staff.

Schools have been told to warn parents and staff about the outbreak and that non-immune children and staff are at risk and can also put others at risk.

Cases

So far this year, 173 cases have been reported, compared with just four in the same period in 2009.

Health officials fear that if its spread is not halted it could reach the level seen in 2000, which resulted in more than 1,600 cases and three deaths. The other big outbreak in recent years was in 2004, when 330 cases were recorded.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has been monitoring the situation closely and has asked theDepartment of Education to put schools on alert. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) said the MMR vaccination was the only way to prevent a measles infection and urged parents to make sure that children were given that protection.

The current outbreak originally took hold in Cork and Kerry and was initially concentrated in Traveller families. However, it has now spread into the wider community.

The HPSC said there were "real concerns" about it spreading among people who had not been vaccinated or who were under-vaccinated.

Doctors recommend two doses of the vaccine, the first usually given at 12 months of age by GPs and the second in school at four to five years of age. However, the vaccine can be received at any time.

Vaccinated

The HPSC said they did not know the extent of vaccination coverage in the population but in the most recent survey, 91pc of children then aged 24 months had been vaccinated, a higher proportion than in previous surveys of children of that age.

Health chiefs said that anyone who was not sure about their vaccination status should get another dose, which would not do them any harm, and would also protect against mumps and rubella.

Dr Suzanne Cotter of the HPSC said the first dose would protect 95pc of children "and if all those children who missed it now go and get a vaccination, we could nip it in the bud".

She said there was real concern about the east of the country where, although there had not been a huge number of cases to date, the vaccination uptake in some areas was relatively low.

- Katherine Donnelly

Irish Independent

 

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Re: Ireland: Measles 2009/2010

Source: http://www.imt.ie/news/2010/04/ireland_fails_to_meet_who_meas.html

Ireland fails to meet WHO measles goal

Aoife Connors

aoife.connors@imt.ie

Ireland will not meet the World Health Organization?s (WHO) European goal of eliminating measles and rubella by 2010 because of continuing outbreaks of measles here.

Measles cases are increasing in Ireland, with 320 cases notified since August 2009.

Almost two-thirds of these cases were unvaccinated, according to Eurosurveillance, Europe?s journal on infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control, which featured a spotlight on measles outbreaks in Ireland 2009-10...

...During the initial stages of the recent outbreak, a substantial number of cases were linked to the Traveller and Roma communities, others from Eastern Europe and also the children of parents who objected to vaccination.

 

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Re: Ireland: Measles 2009/2010

Source: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0607/1224272004407.html

The Irish Times - Monday, June 7, 2010
Measles rate in Ireland is second highest in Europe

EITHNE DONNELLAN Health Correspondent

IRELAND HAD the second-highest incidence rate of measles in Europe in the first quarter of this year, according to new figures published by the European Centre for Disease Control.

The highest incidence was in Bulgaria, where 11 children died from measles in the first three months of 2010.

Some 280 cases of measles were reported in Ireland during the same period and almost one-third of these had to be hospitalised. No deaths were reported here.

The number of cases of measles in Ireland continued to rise during April and May. At the end of last month, some 355 cases of measles had been reported so far this year, some 15 times more than over the same period last year.

Dr Suzanne Cotter, public health specialist with the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, said the high figure for Ireland in the first part of this year was accounted for by an outbreak of measles that had been ongoing since about August last year.

?The outbreak has caused an enormous amount of disease in the community relative to our population size,? she said.

Dr Cotter said that although the measles outbreak here had been in decline in recent weeks, the fact that there were any cases was of concern when it was preventable with vaccination.

She said when the cases reported here were assessed, the main reasons behind them were that the individuals had not been vaccinated at all or had only had one dose of the MMR vaccine.

Two doses are required for maximum protection and these are normally given at age 12 months and age four or five years.

While vaccination rates in young children have improved over the past few years, they plummeted after the publication in 1998 of a flawed study linking the MMR vaccine with autism.

The prestigious medical journal the Lancet has since retracted the article and its author Dr Andrew Wakefield was recently struck off the UK medical register.

Many of the children and teenagers who missed out on vaccinations after that paper was published succumbed to measles during the recent outbreak. Some other cases were in babies too young to have been vaccinated.

Dr Cotter urged parents to check and make sure their children got two doses of the MMR vaccine. She said they could check with their GP or on their child?s vaccination card and, if they were unsure of their child?s MMR vaccination status, they should arrange to get two doses of the vaccine, which was free.

?It won?t do any harm,? she added, even if they had already had the vaccine.

She said some people also missed out on reminder notices about the second jab when they moved house. A high proportion of cases in the recent outbreak were among the Traveller community, who may have moved and missed out on notices about second doses of the vaccine as a result.

In total, more than 12,000 measles cases were reported from 32 European countries in the first three months of this year, a sixfold increase on the same period last year. More than 10,000 cases were reported in Bulgaria and more than 700 cases in France.

Ireland was next with nearly 300 cases, but given its population size, the report said it had the second-highest incidence rate in Europe at 6.12 cases per 100,000 population.

 

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Re: Ireland: Measles 2009/2010

Source: http://www.herald.ie/lifestyle/heal...ncrease-tenfold-in-just-one-year-2310733.html

Measles cases increase tenfold in just one year
By Claire Murphy

Wednesday August 25 2010

The number of measles cases is almost 10 times that of 2009 after a big outbreak earlier this year.

Patients testing positive for the disease is now at 404, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

That is over nine times that of last year's total of just 44 cases...