An urgent health warning has been issued after three people infected with measles visited several locations in New South Wales.
Three people, included one unvaccinated traveller who had returned from Vietnam, tested positive after visiting several locations in Lake Macquarie and Newcastle.
Locals have been urged to remain alert to any signs or symptoms of measles including fever, runny nose, sore eyes, a cough followed by a red, blotchy rash.
The disease can be fatal, especially for young children, if left untreated.
‘Measles is a vaccine preventable disease that is spread through the air when someone who is infectious coughs or sneezes,’ Director of Public Health for Hunter New England Local Health District Dr David Durrheim said.
‘It can take up to 21 days for symptoms to appear after an exposure, so it’s important for people who visited these locations to look out for symptoms for three weeks after the dates listed.’
Dr Durrheim urged those who noticed symptoms to call ahead to their GP or emergency department to ensure they don’t come into contact with other patients.
‘We want to remind the community to make sure they are up to date with their vaccinations. The measles vaccine can prevent the disease even after exposure, if given early enough,’ he said.
Three people with contagious cases of measles attended locations in the Lake Macquarie and Newcastle (above) areas of New South Wales
NSW Health has advised locals who visited a location at the same time as an infected person to monitor for symptoms.
The locations include: Charleston soccer ground, between 2pm and 5pm on March 1; Belmont Hospital Emergency Department, 10.30am to 8.30pm on March 10 and 11am to 6pm on March 23; Go Vita Lake Haven shopping centre, between 11am and 2pm on March 2 and 10am and 4pm on March 16.
Attendees to Go Vita Mount Hutton shopping centre between 11am and 5pm on March 17 were also warned to monitor the development of any symptoms.
The measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is given free for children at 12 and 18 months of age. It is also free in NSW for anyone born after 1965 who hasn’t already had two doses.
The latest data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicates the measles outbreak in Vietnam is ‘still very much ongoing’.
‘We are seeing continued surges in cases in central and northern Vietnam – including new outbreaks in parts of the country that have not reported cases or clusters of cases before,’ its latest update read.
Government bodies warned Australians travelling to any country overseas to remain vigilant in the face of the outbreak and ensure they are vaccinated for measles.
In NSW, officials confirmed 10 cases of measles in the first three months of 2025.
Measles outbreaks have occurred in Vietnam and the US, worrying Australian health officials
Experts have raised their concerns Australia could become a ‘fertile ground’ for measles to take root.
The WHO declared measles had been eradicated from Australia in 2014.
Small outbreaks have occurred since then, as Australians travel frequently.
Experts are concerned because Australia is below the WHO’s recommended 95 per cent vaccination rate target.
Without meeting the target, Australia does not have ‘herd immunity’.
Currently an estimated 92.21 per cent of two-year-old’s in the country are vaccinated against measles.
Vaccine expert at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Professor Margie Danchin told The Guardian there is ‘fertile ground where we have deep pockets on under-vaccination’.
‘The measles virus is the most infectious virus we know – it’s like a heat-seeking missile. In an under-vaccinated population it will spread quickly,’ she said.
In regions like the Richmond Valley in NSW and the Noosa Hinterland in Queensland, the vaccination rate is about 70 to 75 per cent of the population.
