Parents have been urged to get their children vaccinated after a measles outbreak in Galway city in which five children and teenagers were hospitalised this week.
"We are urging parents whose children have not been immunised to bring their children for immunisation as soon as possible to prevent the spread of measles,” said HSE west director of public health Dr Diarmuid O’Donovan. Six suspected cases of measles have been reported to the HSE.
“The most important part of controlling an outbreak of measles is to ensure that there is a high level of immunity in the population. Measles can be prevented by immunisation with a highly effective vaccine that is part of the MMR [measles-mumps-rubella] immunisation,” he said.
In order to prevent outbreaks, 95 per cent of children should be immunised. In Ireland only 87 per cent of children have been and just 84 per cent in Galway have had their first dose of MMR by age two, according to latest Health Protection surveillance figures.
Fine Gael TD James Reilly said the latest outbreak was a timely reminder for people to reassess their attitude towards immunisation. "If anything good comes from this it is that people will take their children to get vaccinated," he said.
"Anti-immunisation groups are not helping the situation. They profess pseudo-science not based on fact. If you choose not to get your child immunised you're putting them at risk."
Vaccination is free between 12 and 15 months with a GP. A second dose is given when children begin school. Vaccination is also recommended for children aged 11 to 12, but can be omitted if two previous vaccinations were given.
Measles is an infection common in unimmunised children aged one to four, but can be caught at any age. It spreads by direct contact with an infected person or through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
It can cause complications including pneumonia, diarrhoea, seizures, brain damage and death, but is usually a mild illness.
Three children died and 1,600 were infected in an outbreak in 2000. Fifty cases were reported in 2007.