A new locally acquired measles case has been infectious at multiple locations, including Emerald, Pakenham and Berwick.
On Friday 4 April the Department of Health issued an alert about the most recent outbreak in Victoria and has provided a list of exposure sites online.
In Emerald, on Wednesday 2 April active public exposure sites included the Melbourne pathology lab from 10am to 10.50am and the Emerald medical clinic from 9.35 to 10.45am.
Symptoms of measles include fever, cough, sore or red eyes (conjunctivitis), runny nose, and feeling generally unwell, followed by a red maculopapular rash and measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can lead to uncommon but serious complications, such as pneumonia and brain inflammation (encephalitis).
Other sites where the infectious cases have been reported include Casey Hospital’s emergency department, Beaconhills College Pakenham Campus, Upper Beaconsfield Recreation Reserve and many more locations across Melbourne and Gippsland through late March and early April.
Some of the locations include:
Monash Health at the Casey Hospital, Berwick in the Paediatric Emergency Department on Thursday 3 April, from 6:35am–11:55am and the Emergency Department from 6:30am–7:05am
Beaconhills College in Pakenham on Monday 31 March, from 8:45am–9:30am and 3:10pm–3:50pm, Wednesday 26 March from 8:45am–3:50pm and 5:00pm–6:00pm. and Thursday 27 March and Friday 28 March from 8:45am–3:50pm.
Augustus Gelatery + Acai in Pakenham on Monday 31 March, from 5:00pm–6:10pm
Upper Beaconsfield Recreation Reserve on Sunday 30 March from 2:50pm–5:30pm
Emerald Football & Netball Club on Wednesday 26 March from 6:00pm–10:00pm
In Ringwood at the BFT Ringwood Gym on Friday 21 March from 7:00am–8:30am
The Ringwood Sage Hotel on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 March from 7:45pm–9:15am
Eastland Food Court on Thursday 20 March from 7:00pm–8:15pm
For the full list of these exposure sites, symptoms to monitor for and information on vaccinations head to: https://go.vic.gov.au/3XKJxDB
The Department of Health stated on its website that this new case has no history of overseas travel or links to recent measles cases, and it was most likely that they acquired their infection in the Melbourne area.
“This case has been infectious at multiple locations around Melbourne and Gippsland,” the website read.
Anyone who has attended a listed exposure site during the specified times above should monitor for symptoms and seek medical care if symptoms develop for up to 18 days after the exposure and follow the recommendations below – for example , this means Emerald residents who visited exposure sites on 2 April should monitor for symptoms until 20 April.
