Measles outbreak fears: Families returning from mid-term breaks overseas at risk of bringing cases back to Ireland

Families with children who have been abroad for the mid-term break are at risk of bringing back measles as cases soar in other countries.

Some GPs in Ireland said they have taken swabs from patients who fear they could have been put at risk of infection following the death of a 48-year-old Westmeath man last week after he contracted the viral disease.

The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) said the probability of exposure to measles in Europe is expected to rise due to the increasing number of confirmed cases in the region.

The man who died last week in Mullingar Hospital had been on a Bus Éireann bus and in a restaurant before he was hospitalised with measles.

The HSE issued an alert to people who might have been in contact with the man to be vigilant for symptoms of the disease.

His was the only confirmed case of measles here so far this year, although suspected cases in children have been notified in other parts of the country, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

Trinity College Dublin immunologist Professor Kingston Mills said measles is a highly transmissible virus, and added: “Very often in universities it can spread quickly because of the proximity of people.

“We need 90 to 95pc coverage of the MMR vaccine for herd immunity. It is a difficult one to contain once it gets into a non-immunised population.”

A spokesperson for the HSE said the alert issued by the Dublin and Midlands public health area last week was an advisory for people who might have been exposed to a confirmed case of measles to be extra vigilant, rather than calling anyone forward for testing.

It advised people to be alert for symptoms of measles for 21 days from exposure and to make sure they and their families were up to date with MMR vaccines.

Measles has typical seasonal patterns, with cases increasing during late winter and spring. Therefore, an increase of cases is expected in the coming months.

Further, due to the continuous movement of people within and outside Europe, there is a high probability of measles spreading between countries, as well as to outside the region.

In areas and settings with high vaccine uptake, the probability of exposure remains low, as is the probability of clusters and outbreaks.

In areas with higher rates of unvaccinated population pockets, the circulation of measles is more likely.

The ECDC said that last year, the notification rates per one million people were highest in Romania, Liechtenstein, Austria, Belgium and Estonia.

The next highest rates were in France, Denmark, Slovakia, Lithuania and Sweden.

These were followed by Germany, Poland and Ireland (where we had four cases), Croatia, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Finland, Hungary and Portugal.

There were no cases in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Malta or Slovenia.

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