Qld officials fear mini measles epidemic | Northern Rivers Health | Fitness and Medical News in Northern Rivers

Tony Bartlett | 3rd March 2009

MORE children will be vaccinated on Tuesday as Queensland Health tries to contain a mini epidemic measles - a serious and highly contagious disease - in an area with one of the lowest rates of immunisations in Australia.

Two cases of measles - possibly originating in Nepal - have been confirmed at the Sunshine Coast's Beerwah State School and blood tests are being run on 10 other students who may have the virus.

Queensland Health says they strongly believe five of those will be confirmed and the other five are potential cases.

Dr Andrew Langley, from the Sunshine Coast Population Health Unit has warned parents not to be mistaken about the potential of the disease to maim and even kill.

"Many people think of measles as a benign disease, but it's not," he said.

"There are risks of severe complications.

"One in 15 children can develop pneumonia and one in a thousand can develop encephalitis which is a swelling of the brain."

Dr Langley said 157 children and 34 staff had been vaccinated and 650 students assessed on Monday, and more students were expected to be vaccinated on Tuesday.

There are 1,200 students and staff at Beerwah State School and while no other suspected cases have been reported in the area, an alert has been sent out to doctors in the region to keep an eye out for possible cases.

Some areas of the Sunshine Coast hinterland have some of the lowest child immunisation rates in Australia.

Dr Langley said pockets of conscientious resistance to child immunisation could compound the problem, but there were a number of contributing factors.

"Some people may have sought exemptions from vaccination and others may have been too busy to get their kids vaccinated," he said.

"The bottom line is, though, that our vaccination rate is lower than other areas and that makes young people susceptible.

"Our concern is that the mini epidemic could spread to surrounding areas, although all the confirmed and suspected cases so far are confined to Beerwah State School."

However, Dr Langley said, it was unlikely the outbreak would spread as far as Brisbane.

"We are tracking the pathway of the virus and at this stage we think it may have come in from Nepal, although that still has to be confirmed," he said.

"It's been circulating in the school for several weeks and we believe there's been a narrow chain of transmission, but there is a real risk of it spreading.

"Of the 12 children who have measles, or are suspected of having it, 11 have not been vaccinated.

"The school has a large catchment area and siblings of students attend other primary schools and there are other high schools in the area."

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