‘Highly infectious’: Aussies travelling to Southeast Asia warned as measles brought back to Victoria, NSW
Health authorities are warning of growing measles outbreaks overseas as tourists bring the highly infectious disease back home.
National
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Australian travellers are being warned of growing measles outbreaks in Vietnam and Thailand, with health authorities urging those who are heading to Southeast Asia to ensure they have had a measles-mumps-rubella vaccine.
Victoria’s acting chief health officer Dr Evelyn Wong issued an alert on Saturday after a new measles case was reported in the state. She said this was the fourth recent Victorian measles case linked to travel to Southeast Asia.
“There has been an increase in notified cases of measles in returned travellers across Australia in recent weeks,” the alert said.
“Growing outbreaks have been reported internationally including in Vietnam and Thailand.”
Measles is a highly infectious disease that can spread person-to-person easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can cause severe disease, complications (such as pneumonia and brain inflammation) and even death.
Symptoms include a fever, cough, sore or red eyes (conjunctivitis), and runny nose, followed by a red rash that starts on the face before spreading down the body.
Measles is rare in Australia but people can bring back the virus after travelling overseas.
Outbreaks have been reported in countries in Asia (including popular Aussie holiday destinations like Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam), as well as in Africa, the UK and Europe, the Middle East, and the United States.
There is currently a large measles outbreak in Vietnam.
In November, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health reported over 20,000 suspected measles cases in 2024, including nearly 5000 confirmed cases and seven deaths.
The Victorian health department has published a list of exposure sites between December 19 and 28.
People who have visited the locations during the specified dates and times should monitor for symptoms and seek medical care if symptoms develop for up to 18 days after the exposure. They are instructed to wear a mask and call ahead to make sure they can be isolated from others.
NSW Health last issued a measles alert on Christmas Eve after an infectious person visited several locations across the state after recently returning from Southeast Asia.
People who visited the list of exposure sites between December 16 and 18 were told to look out for symptoms until January 5.
“This should be a reminder for everyone to check that they are protected against measles, which is highly infectious,” Dr Jeremy McAnulty, executive director of Health Protection NSW, said.
“Anyone born after 1965 needs to ensure they have had two doses of measles vaccine. This is especially important before overseas travel, as measles outbreaks are occurring in several regions of the world at the moment.”
A measles alert was also issued for Brisbane on Christmas Eve with exposure sites between December 12 and 16.
There were 56 cases of measles recorded in Australia in 2024, according to the National Notifiable Disease Surveillance System. That included 18 in NSW and 17 in Victoria. Queensland recorded eight cases, South Australia and Western Australia each had six cases and ACT had one.
Originally published as ‘Highly infectious’: Aussies travelling to Southeast Asia warned as measles brought back to Victoria, NSW
Dad escapes secretive, notorious Aussie cult
After being born into one of Australia’s most notorious cult-like churches, Ryan Carey escaped its controlling clutches and is now speaking out.
Is bigger better? How the nation’s largest schools rank
Enrolments are surging at Australia’s biggest schools but academic results reveal how students really fare. Search the list to see if your school made the grade.