Update
The HSE East has confirmed an additional 3 measles cases in the Dublin area. This brings the number of confirmed measles cases in the Dublin area to 5 cases. Additional possible cases have been reported, but to date none have been confirmed.
Summary
East (greater Dublin area)
• Five cases, all cases are children < 18 years of age (3 are related)
Northeast (Meath)
• 2 cases, children
Potential for more cases as a result of community and hospital exposures
· At this time the relevant Departments of Public Health have not been able to identify any links between these two outbreaks.
· Therefore, the assumption has to be made that measles is circulating in the community both in Dublin, and in Meath.
· As all children in both Dublin and Meath presented to a number of A&E departments in the Dublin area while infectious, there is a risk of unrecognised transmission in these settings to non-immune individuals if they were present in the A&E department at the same time and up to two hours later
Request
• For hospitals and health care facilities (including GP surgeries, out of hours clinics)
o Immediate triage and isolation of all suspect measles cases upon arrival at any health facility is needed to prevent spread
o Suspect cases may have
• fever, cough, coryza, conjunctivitis +/- rash at time of presentation
OR
• report history of exposure to measles case
o For GP practice patients
• GP patients with possible measles, who contact the GP practice or out of hours service
• should be advised not to attend the practice when other patients are present in order to prevent transmission.
• such patients should be seen at the end of surgery clinic or be seen outside the clinic (in patient’s home)
• GPs seeing possible measles cases in their practice
• Are recommended not to refer cases to hospital unless clinically indicated i.e. not solely for diagnostic purposes
• For suspect cases requiring hospital referral – please contact the Accident and Emergency department in advance to ensure that the patients can be isolated immediately upon arrival.
• NOTE: Measles diagnosis can be arranged without hospital referral (either with oral fluid swab (if available), or serum or urine sample) Public Health will send out swabs for patients upon notification
• All suspect measles cases should be notified as soon as possible to the local Department of Public Health during office hours
Actions taken
• Local OCTs have been convened
• Further press releases will be made by the HSE with update and advice
• All schools, parents of children attending schools where cases have been identified, local hospitals, HSE school immunisation services and Public health nurses, GPs and GP out of hours services in the areas affected, have been/or are being made aware of the unfolding situation
• HPSC will be updating our news section on the home page as information becomes available
• Measles prevention and identification information materials are available on line http://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/vaccinepreventable/measles/
• Already printed measles posters and leaflets are available and can be sent to you upon request – please contact hpsc@hse.ie
The HSE press release, issued today, will be online later this evening at
http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/news/media/pressrel/