Measles outbreak due

By CATHERINE MASTERS

A recent episode of ER had doctors clustered around a little boy, puzzled by a strange rash on his face.

"Well, it could be measles," said one. But none of the doctors had ever seen a case before as measles has been virtually eliminated from the United States.

It turned out the mother had not had her children vaccinated and, as the doctors realised the rash really was measles, their faces turned ashen.

"But measles is not serious, is it?" asked the mother, panicked by the serious faces.

"Children are killed by it," snapped a nurse as the boy was wheeled away to fight a bug that should have been eradicated and could leave him dead, or brain-damaged.

In New Zealand, doctors face this situation daily with children who have contracted diseases that should have been wiped out.

Measles is one - but it and rubella can be eradicated by one free injection, says Dr Nikki Turner, of the Auckland-based Immunisation Advisory Centre.

Other Third World diseases encountered here include whooping cough, which is still clogging up wards at the tail end of an epidemic.

Still some parents refuse to have their children immunised, and a measles outbreak is due in New Zealand at any time.

Its severity will depend on the number of children who have been vaccinated. Because a national database is still on its way, it is not known how many children have had the jab and whether enough have had itto keep measles at bay.

"If we did get 95 per cent of our kids immunised, we'd never see measles in this country again," says Dr Turner.

"We're warning people that there could be another measles epidemic, and it's really up to people whether there is one or not. If enough kids get vaccinated we will not have an epidemic."

Measles is one of the most infectious bugs around, she says.

Seven to 9 per cent of children who get it get ear infections, up to 6 per cent get pneumonia and diarrhoea.

Inflammation of the brain strikes in about one in 1000 cases. Of those, 15 per cent die and a further 25 per cent are left with permanent brain damage.

Dr Turner urges parents to take note of the immunisation schedule in the Well Child book and get children shots against hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), haemophilus influenzae type B, measles, mumps, rubella and tetanus, plus a syrup to protect against polio.