The HSE has officially confirmed the second case of the measles in Ireland this year and is now investigating.
HSE consultants have notified all known relevant contacts of the person diagnosed and they have been advised of the risk.
However, as the HSE are not able to know all those who have been in contact in this case it wants to highlight the symptoms to look out for.
The person in this case was in quite a few public places in Dublin and Kerry in the weeks before their diagnosis, including the May bank holiday weekend.
Dr Kevin Kelleher, HSE consultant in public health said:
"Most people will have nothing to worry about as the vast majority of the population have been fully vaccinated. We are being very cautious in this instance because measles is potentially a serious condition. We are currently very close to eliminating measles here in Ireland."
Those who have not been vaccinated have a high chance of developing measles as it is highly infectious and spread very easily.
The HSE is making huge efforts to eliminate measles entirely after two confirmed cases in 2016 alone.
The public are being told if any symptoms are present, especially if they have not been fully vaccinated or had measles before, they should stay at home and not go anywhere where they might spread the infection.
Symptoms to look out for:
- Irritability
- Runny nose
- Conjunctivitis
- Rough cough
- High fever that comes and goes
- Rash – starting on the forehead might spread downwards onto the face and neck consisting of flat red or brown blotches.
- Other symptoms include diarrhoea, vomiting and tummy pains
SHARE to highlight the symptoms to look out for.
