More than 30 cases of measles in Bay of Plenty and Lakes District

Dr Jim Miller, Bay of Plenty Medical Officer of Health, urges people to check they are fully immunised to prevent measles spreading. Photo / File

The measles outbreak in the Auckland region, combined with the growing number of cases nationwide, has prompted the Bay of Plenty's Medical Officer of Health to remind people of the need to get immunised. Our reporter has investigated the extent of the problem locally, including immunisation uptake rates and also spoken to local medical centres about the increased demand for the MMR vaccine. .
There have been more than 30 confirmed cases of measles in the Bay of Plenty and Lakes District this year as the number of cases nationwide has hit a high of 849.

Toi Te Ora medical officer of health Dr Jim Miller said there has been 33 confirmed cases of measles in the region this year.

There has been 27 confirmed cases in the Bay of Plenty District Health Board area this year, five of which were confirmed this month.

In the Lakes District Health Board area, six cases have been confirmed this year, including one this month.

Miller said four of the local cases were preschool children and two were young adults.

The Medical Officer of Health urges people to check they are fully immunised to prevent measles spreading. Photo / Gettys

In the year to June 30, 2019, only 84 per cent of Bay of Plenty 2-year-olds were fully immunised, dropping to 80 per cent for the 5-year-olds in the region.

The immunisation rates for these same age groups in the Lakes District was 87 per cent for children aged 2 and 82 per cent for 5-year-olds, he said.

"Measles is a very infectious illness, so much so that it is widely accepted that 95 per cent of any community needs to be immunised to be sure that cases will not spread to become outbreaks.

"Our advice remains that immunisation is the best protection against measles and a range of other infectious illness. Currently, there are no restrictions on unimmunised children attending local schools."

There were no concerns about the amount of vaccine supply in this area, he said.
The size of the South Auckland outbreak and the fact that it continued to grow was concerning, Miller said, and he urged people to check they were up to date with their MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) immunisation before travelling to Auckland.

"All of the recent cases have links to Auckland, either from travelling or they have the same measles virus strain as the Auckland outbreak."

Confirmed cases of measles nationwide so far this year has risen to 849, including at least 700 in Auckland.

At least half of those affected with measles in the Bay of Plenty region are hospitalised. Photo / File

"Measles is a serious disease, with almost half of the people who have had measles in our area this year ending up in a hospital," Miller said.

"Public health is managing a relatively small number of recent local cases. Some contacts of those patients have to stay at home to reduce the risk of further spread."

A spokeswoman from Papamoa Pines Palm Springs Medical Centre said in the past few months a lot more people had been coming in to get immunised.

This included parents and adults concerned they were not fully immunised or had missed on their second dose.

"There has definitely been a change of attitude by some parents, who have finally realised they were misinformed about the potential risks from the vaccine. "

A spokeswoman from Healthcare on Fifteenth medical centre also confirmed they had fielding more inquiries and also noted a positive change of attitude by some parents.