The community, particularly in the Lismore area, should watch out for signs and symptoms of measles after the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNLHD) was notified of a confirmed case who was infectious while visiting several locations.
NNLHD says the infectious person had recently returned from overseas.
People who attended the following locations should watch for the development of symptoms:
• Lismore Square Shopping Centre between 11am and 1pm on Sunday 2 February.
• Lismore Base Hospital Emergency Department between 6.15pm on Thursday, February 6 and 2.20am on Friday, February 7.
Northern NSW Local Health District Director of Population Health, Dr Valerie Delpech, said while these locations pose no ongoing risk, if you or someone you know, visited the above locations at those times you should monitor for symptoms.
Fever, sore eyes, runny nose and a cough
‘Symptoms to watch out for include fever, sore eyes, runny nose and a cough, usually followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash that spreads from the head and face to the rest of the body,’ said Dr Delpech.
‘If symptoms develop, seek medical attention, but phone ahead so that precautions can be taken to prevent measles being spread to anyone else.
Dr Delpech say symptoms can take up to 18 days to appear after an exposure. ‘It’s important for people who visited these locations to look out for symptoms up until Tuesday, Februrary 25.
Dr Delpech took the opportunity 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.
‘This should be a reminder for everyone to check that they are protected against measles, which is highly infectious.
‘Anyone born after 1965 needs to ensure they have had two doses of measles vaccine. This is especially important before overseas travel, as measles outbreaks are occurring in several regions of the world at the moment.’
For more information on measles, view the measles factsheet .
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