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Measles
Measles
Statutory notification alert
Measles infection is an urgently notifiable infectious disease in Western Australia.
Alert
: cases must be reported urgently by telephone to the
public health units (HealthyWA)
within a few hours of first suspicion of diagnosis.
See
notifiable communicable disease case definitions (Word 1.29MB)
.
Notifications should be made using the communicable disease notification form for
metropolitan residents (PDF 214KB)
or
regional residents (PDF 213KB)
.
For notification of regional residents see contact details of
public health units
.
See also description of
Statutory medical notifications in Western Australia
.
Public health management
Important information
Infectious agent:
Measles virus.
Transmission:
Measles is usually spread when a person breathes in the measles virus that has been coughed or sneezed into the air by an infectious person.
Incubation period:
7-18 days (average 10 days) from exposure to fever and usually 14 days until rash appears.
Infectious period:
People usually infectious from just before the symptoms begin (2-4 days) until four days after the rash appears.
Case exclusion:
Cases should not attend school/preschool/child care/work from onset of symptoms to 4 days after onset of rash and should stay home (unless isolated in hospital). See
Measles – National guidelines for public health units (external site)
.
Contact exclusion:
Exclude unimmunised contacts from school/preschool/child care. See
Measles – National guidelines for public health units (external site)
.
Treatment:
No specific anti-viral treatment. Symptomatic treatment only.
Immunisation:
Recommended that children be vaccinated according to the
Western Australian immunisation schedule
. Anyone born in or after 1966 who is not immune to measles should have 2 doses of measles vaccine, this especially applies to health care workers, child care workers or people who plan to travel overseas. See
Australian Immunisation Handbook, Department of Health – Measles (external site)
.
Case follow-up:
Is conducted by
public health units (HealthyWA)
and the Communicable Disease Control Directorate.
Guidelines for health providers
Western Australian immunisation schedule
Communicable Disease Guidelines, for teachers, child care workers, local government authorities and medical practitioners (PDF 386KB)
Australian Immunisation Handbook, Department of Health – Measles (external site)
Measles fact sheet (HealthyWA)
Measles information for contacts (Word 570KB)
Guidelines for public health units
Contact details for regional population/public health units
Measles – National guidelines for public health units (external site)
Measles fact sheet (HealthyWA)
Measles public health unit checklist (Word 566KB)
Measles information for contacts (Word 583KB)
Measles case investigation form (Word 279KB)
Measles post-exposure guidelines (Word 577KB)
Measles – letter templates for contacts (Word 348KB)
Measles – script template for waiting room contacts (Word 595KB)
WA protocol for accessing immunoglobulin blood products for public health use in Western Australia (PDF 410KB)
Notifiable disease data and reports
Notifiable infectious disease dashboard
General infectious disease reports
Last reviewed:
27-09-2023
Produced by
Public Health
Related links
Measles adult vaccination program
Measles (Healthy WA)
Measles mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine (HealthyWA)
Measles poster – EDs (PDF 940KB)
Measles poster – GPs (PDF 939KB)
Measles poster – Clinician testing guidelines (PDF 934KB)
Managing a suspected Measles case in the General Practice (PDF 241KB)