Child and youth health adviser Dr Pat Tuohy says people need to check vaccinations are current before they get on a plane.

“We have a serious measles outbreak in Auckland and there’s a risk that it could spread to other parts of New Zealand or the Pacific,” says Dr Tuohy.

Parents of children who are unimmunised, unwell and may have been exposed to measles are also asked not to send their child to holiday programmes, sports tournaments or other activities.

“We understand it can be hard to take time off work or change holiday plans at the last minute, but it’s important we do everything we can to stop measles spreading,” says Dr Tuohy. “By taking these extra steps, parents are helping to protect children who can’t be immunised because they are having cancer treatment or have other conditions that put them high risk of becoming sick if they do catch this disease.”

An unimmunised child has a more than 90 per cent chance of catching measles if they come into contact with someone who has it. Symptoms of the disease include a high fever, hacking cough, red eyes, runny nose and a rash. It often starts as an influenza-like illness and a rash may not appear for several days.

For more information, log onto www.immune.org.nz or phone 0800 466 863

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