The rate of the measles outbreak in the east has doubled in the past week and parents are being warned of a possible epidemic. Dr Marie Laffoy, director of public health with the Eastern Regional Health Authority, yesterday urged parents to have their children immunised against the "very serious" disease.
While there was always an underlying level of measles in the community with up to four cases a week reported in the eastern region, 10 cases had been notified in the past week. "The message is that if your child is aged 12 months or over and has not been vaccinated, they should be vaccinated now."
Responding to recent adverse publicity about the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, which has claimed links between it and the onset of autism, Dr Laffoy said the vaccine was "very safe".
The uptake across the State is 70 per cent, 15 per cent short of WHO guidelines for securing protection for the whole community. The vaccine is free and available from GPs.
An outbreak of measles in March 2000 saw more than 1,200 children infected and "a significant number" admitted to hospital. Three children died.
Dr Mary Cronin, specialist in public health with the National Disease Surveillance Centre, said the centre was "obviously concerned" about the apparent outbreak of measles in the eastern region.
She said the disease caused "misery" for those infected and could give rise to complications, including ear infection, pneumonia, brain damage, deafness, epilepsy and in the most extreme cases, death.
"In the long term, one of the most insidious effects is that the virus can be quiescent in the body for many years giving rise about 10 years after the illness to sub-acute sclerosing panencephalitis, or SSPE."
About one in 100,000 people infected will suffer SSPE, a degenerative disease of the central nervous system leading to eventual coma and death over a period of six to nine months.
