Measles

Toi Te Ora Public Health occasionally arranges IgG testing if an individual is a contact of a case of measles and is unable to confirm their vaccination status. Such a person will be put into quarantine. However, they may be offered IgG testing, as if they return a positive IgG result they can be released from quarantine.

More specific advice about measles serology testing for diagnostic purposes is available on the Pathlab website.

National
ESR produces measles reports which include information on the epidemiology of measles cases reported in New Zealand. Measles is a notifiable disease in New Zealand and these reports use data available from EpiSurv, the national notifiable disease database.

International
Measles outbreak regions around the world can be viewed here.

Key points:

• Measles occurs in all ages. 

• The characteristic maculo-papular rash follows first prodromal symptoms by 2-3 days. 

• Patients are infectious 5 days before the onset of the rash until 5 days after onset of the rash. 

• Measles is highly contagious, spreading via the air or surface droplets. 

• A single case is defined as an outbreak requiring urgent public health intervention – therefore urgent lab testing for confirmation of a suspected case is critical. 

 Apart from the clinical picture, other factors which should raise clinical suspicion include:

• Possible Contact / Exposure with known or possible case eg:  school, pre-school, playmates, friends, relatives with above symptoms.

• Increased Community Risk – if individuals were born between 1969 and 1975, they may not have a good measles immunity.

• Susceptible Individuals – those who do not have documented immunity to measles or who have not received two doses of MMR vaccine or, for those aged < 4 yrs, have not received one dose after 12 months of age. 

• Immunocompromised Individuals – should be considered for immunoglobulin.  

• Measles - GP Flow Chart - Toi Te Ora Public Health summary and advice on local guidelines for diagnosis and management. 
• Infectious Disease Notification Form

On-call Medical Officer of Health - 07 579 8000 (Tauranga Hospital)

• Think Measles - a resource for the public which can be printed as a poster and displayed, for example, in clinic waiting rooms
• Attention: You could have measles – an alert poster that can be displayed at clinic entrances and reception desks
• Guardians of the future - resources from the Health Promotion Agency.

Websites with measles information

• Ministry of Health:

  • measles information for health professionals
  • measles information for the public
• Immunisation Advisory Centre
• Immunisation Advisory Centre, Health Professionals home page, latest news and updates
• Immunisation Advisory Centre outbreak advice - MMR
• Public Health Surveillance, ESR weekly measles report