Increase in cases of measles

There been an increase in the number of cases of measles in the Eastern Health Board area

There been an increase in the number of cases of measles in the Eastern Health Board area. In a statement yesterday, the board urged parents to ensure that their children were vaccinated at the appropriate age, adding that measles was a preventable illness.

Parents of children who had missed the MMR vaccination were urged to have their children immunised.

Most of the cases so far have been in north Dublin, but the board said that it was likely to spread to other parts of the city because of the highly infectious nature of the disease.

"The Eastern Health Board wishes to emphasise that measles can be a serious illness and can result in complications, including ear infections, pneumonia and encephalitis [inflammation of the brain]," the statement added.