Outbreaks can result in severe complications and deaths, with young, malnourished children particularly vulnerable.
Illustrative stock image of measles rash. (Image: Getty Images)
Holidaymakers have been issued a warning after measles cases soared in a popular travel destination in Spain. Earlier this month, an outbreak of the contagious illness was declared in Alcantarilla, Murcia. Since then, cases have doubled, with Murcia’s health ministry confirming eight cases.
As of last Thursday, four cases had been identified, including three adults and a baby. A further four have since been reported by authorities. Specific details about the affected patients haven’t been provided by the ministry. However, it has been revealed that the new ones were identified because they had contact with another infected person. Since the first cases were reported on May 5, the time it has taken to make a diagnosis after symptoms begin has been reduced considerably, authorities say.
Alcantarilla in Murcia (Image: Marinasabater/ Wikimedia Commons)
The process took up to a fortnight for in the first four cases, but in the latest four a diagnosis was given in just five days, The Olive Press reported.
Health minister Juan Jose Pedreño said the outbreak was prevented from getting “get out of hand” by the Epidemiology Service’s work to control the spread.
The outbreak had initially been linked to a baptism ceremony, but the health ministry has dimissed this.
It is advising anyone who is vaccinated or not sure whether or not they have been to get in touch with their local health centre.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Measles is “one of the world’s most contagious diseases”. It’s “spread by contact with infected nasal or throat secretions (coughing or sneezing) or breathing the air that was breathed by someone with measles”.
“The virus remains active and contagious in the air or on infected surfaces for up to two hours,” it adds. “For this reason, it is very infectious. One person infected by measles can generate up to 18 secondary infections.”
“It can be transmitted by an infected person from four days prior to the onset of the rash to four days after the rash erupts.”
Outbreaks can result in severe complications and deaths, with young, malnourished children particularly vulnerable.
The WHO says vaccination is the best way to prevent getting sick with measles or giving it to others, adding that the vaccine is “safe and helps your body fight off the virus”.
Declining vaccinations rates and cuts to funding are thought to have contributed to a rise in measles outbreaks across the world in recent years.