Measles Threat Set to Climb During the Holidays

Don’t let measles spoil your holidays — that’s the message from officials as the number of confirmed cases in Northland hit 128.

The Northland District Health Board has upped the ante in its push for children and young people to ensure they are protected from the deadly disease ahead of the school holidays. There have been 45 cases in the Far North, 15 in Kaipara and 68 in Whangārei.

“In the last month, there have been 13 new cases from one school cluster, with an additional 16 associated secondary cases mostly in households,” said NDHB medical officer of health, Dr Catherine Jackson.

“This demonstrates how highly infectious measles is and if you are not immunized or immune, then the chances of catching measles is incredibly high.”

Over the Christmas break, people would visit family and friends in Northland and people should ensure they were immunized to prevent the spread of measles.

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