Passengers on a flight from Melbourne to Christchurch on 19 March were exposed to measles, New Zealand authorities have said, as more cases emerge on both sides of the Tasman.
A passenger who arrived in Christchurch on Virgin Australia flight VA99 from Melbourne has been confirmed as having been infectious, adding to the total of 35 confirmed cases for the Canterbury region of New Zealand.
The flight left Melbourne at 6.35pm local time and arrived in Christchurch at 11.35pm local time.
Passengers who had not been fully immunised were advised to consult their doctor and to stay at home in isolation until at least next Tuesday.
Canterbury’s medical officer of health, Dr Alistair Humphrey, said they should also inform anyone else they had subsequently been in contact with.
“If you were on this flight and aren’t fully immunised against measles, you should also call anyone you have been in the same room with today to let them know that they too have been exposed to measles,” he said. “This new secondary set of contacts will need to remain isolated for 14 days unless they are fully immunised.”
In a separate case, a young man is being treated for the infectious disease in a Melbourne hospital after flying from Brisbane via Canberra on Thursday morning.
After arriving in Melbourne, the man caught a shuttle bus from the airport to Nomads All National Hostel on Spencer Street, where he stayed until Sunday.
He also attended a 7-Eleven on Spencer Street last Friday and the Chemist Warehouse on Bourke Street the following day.
The man earlier visited Coles Marketplace and checked in at Brisbane Backpacker Resort last Tuesday, where he stayed until flying out of the city.
The ACT has also issued a measles warning because the man was at Canberra Airport for up to an hour.
Victoria’s latest measles case is unrelated to a woman who attended the Melbourne Formula One GP while infectious with the disease.
Victoria’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, said the cases were a timely reminder for people to ensure they are vaccinated
“Anyone who is unvaccinated is at highest risk of contracting measles,” he said, adding that people need two doses of vaccine to be fully protected.
The disease is highly infectious and symptoms include fever, a severe cough, conjunctivitis and coryza, followed by a rash starting on the face.
Measles patients can be infectious roughly five days before and four days after the rash appears.
In the first three months of this year there have been outbreaks of measles in the Philippines, the US and Japan, as well as Australia and New Zealand. The World Health Organisation says cases jumped 50% last year, including in many developed countries, sparking fears that the increase is related to the rise of the anti-vaccination movement.
