Measles Brisbane, Redcliffe: Warning over low vaccination rate as case detected

Infectious disease experts have issued a dire warning after a man infected with measles travelled through Brisbane and Redcliffe.

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Infectious disease experts have issued a dire warning after a person with measles travelled around the Brisbane and Redcliffe areas.

Queensland Health has confirmed a man travelling from Indonesia visited several businesses and locations on Brisbane’s northside and on the Redcliffe peninsula while infected.

Infectious disease experts Dr Paul Griffin and Professor Nigel McMillan have said that measles could wreak havoc because of low vaccination rates and its highly infectious nature.

“For every one person infected with measles, it can be passed onto 18 more people, which compared to Covid-19 at one case infecting three people, it is extremely infectious,” Professor McMillan said.

“In order for the vaccine to be effective, which this one really is, any vaccination rate below 90 per cent is considered as a risk to developing a measles outbreak.”

Dr Griffin said there were pockets of the Gold and Sunshine coasts where vaccination rates had dropped.

Professor Nigel McMillan.

Professor Paul Griffin.

“That is partially due to Covid with lots of misinformation about the vaccine circling or general vaccine hesitancy,” he said.

As well as the drop-off in vaccination rates due to Covid-19, Dr Griffin said a lot of people were sceptical because of a fraudulent study tying the measles vaccine to autism.

“The study linked the measles vaccine to causing autism. This study has time and time again been proven as fraudulent but it still makes people not chose to vaccinate,” he said.

Both experts have issued a warning to the Brisbane and Redcliffe public as a result of the confirmed case.

“Be alert and be aware and don’t underestimate its significance. Unfortunately this virus can have very significant consequences if not treated,” Dr Griffin said.

Queensland Health confirmed on Monday that no new cases or locations have been reported since the initial confirmed case on Saturday.

Information realeased on the weekend revealed the man’s movements around Brisbane and Redcliffe.

They include:

- Flight QF610 from Melbourne to Brisbane on Monday, July 3, departed at 9.50am

Brisbane Domestic Airport on Monday, July 3, between noon and 1pm

- Nudgee Service Centre, 1097 Nudgee Rd, Nudgee, on Monday, July 3, between 1.15pm and 1.45pm, and again on Saturday, July 8, between 11pm and 11.40pm

- CJ’s Pastries, Ashmole and Klingner roads at Kippa-Ring on July 3, between 1.40pm and 2.10pm

- Vital Life Centres, 1 Jeays St, Scarborough on Tuesday 4 July, Wednesday 5 July, Saturday 8 July, between 8am and 11.30am, and on July 10 between 3pm and 4pm

- Kippa-Ring Shopping Centre on July 4 between 2pm and 4pm

- City Cave Redcliffe Sauna, 265 Oxley Ave, Margate on July 8 between 1pm and 2.30pm

- Dan Murphy’s, 867 Stanley St, Woolloongabba on July 8, between 6.15pm and 7pm

- DFO Skygate at Brisbane Airport on July 9, between 10am and 6.30pm (in particular, at the Volcom outlet and in the food court)

- Redcliffe Hospital Emergency Department on July 13, between 4.15pm and 10pm, and again on July 14 between 8.45am and 4pm.