Measles alert for Melbourne and surrounds

A YOUNG tourist checking out the best Melbourne has to offer in the past week has sparked a measles alert in the city.

THE female visitor took in Melbourne’s CBD, headed to St Kilda beach, checked out Phillip Island and visited the Great Ocean Road before she was diagnosed with measles and taken to hospital for treatment.

All the while she was carrying the virus, which has now prompted Victorian health authorities to be on the lookout for the highly infectious disease at key tourist locations the woman visited in and around Melbourne.

A large number of people may have been exposed around Melbourne and parts of Victoria while infectious, health authorities said.

The woman visited several locations in Melbourne’s CBD, including Flinders Backpackers, St Kilda beach, Phillip Island, and the Great Ocean Road between Geelong and Warrnambool, from Saturday until Wednesday.

Anyone who visited Flinders Street Station, St Kilda Beach, Phillip Island or the lookouts along the Great Ocean Road between March 3 and March 7 may have been exposed.

Victoria’s deputy chief health officer Dr Brett Sutton warned “many people” may have been exposed, and symptoms could show up until March 21.

“People who develop illness over the next two weeks should alert their doctor or hospital emergency department,” Victoria’s deputy chief health officer Dr Brett Sutton said.

Measles can cause serious illness, particularly in the young. Anyone who is unvaccinated is at risk.

Early symptoms include a runny nose, cough, fever and rash. The rash usually begins on the face and spreads down the body.

Originally published as Measles alert for Melbourne and surrounds