30 Sep 2011

Measles case confirmed in Wellington

8:51 pm on 30 September 2011

A university student is in Wellington Hospital with measles in the first confirmed case of the disease in the capital in the current outbreak.

Medical officer of health Stephen Palmer says the Victoria University student came into contact with a person who was infectious with the disease on a flight from Auckland earlier this month.

Dr Palmer says medical staff are working with the university's student health service to identify people the student has been in contact with, including those who took the same classes last week.

He says the student travelled to Dunedin before becoming ill and authorities are getting in touch with those who may have had contact with the patient there.

Any of the contacts who have not been immunised immunised against measles will be asked to remain at home in isolation until 7 October.

Dr Palmer says the student had been vaccinated as part of a community wide immunisation programme in Queensland, but may have not had sufficient doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination.

In Auckland, a measles outbreak has continued to grow, with the number of confirmed cases rising to 187 since the end of May.