Are anti-vaxxers driving ‘worrying’ rise of measles in SA? Experts urge parents to immunise children

A spike in dangerous measles cases – including a baby boy rushed to hospital – has health experts worried SA is dangerously close to falling below the herd immunity net.

Doctors are concerned about rising cases of measles – and a drop-off in vaccination rates for young children.

A resurgence of measles and drop-off in kids’ vaccination rates has health authorities worried a deadly outbreak of the disease is “only a matter of time”.

Experts are seeking to understand why fewer parents are getting their young children vaccinated and the role anti-vaxxers and post-Covid “immunisation hesitancy” are playing.

Microbiologist Morgyn Warner said already there had been more confirmed cases of measles this year than all of 2023 while the vaccination rate for two-year-olds had dropped below the national target.

It comes as an infant boy is in a stable condition in hospital after contracting measles after a recent overseas trip, prompting an urgent alert from SA Health on Tuesday.

The one-year-old is the sixth case of measles in South Australia this year, compared to three cases at the same time last year. A total of three cases were recorded in 2023.

Data from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) shows that between January and June, 19, 2024, there have been a total of 40 confirmed cases of measles across Australia.

“Measles is highly contagious (and) is not a disease of the past … (we are seeing) a significant rise in cases post-pandemic,” Associate Professor Warner Pathology, an ambassador for Pathology Awareness Australia, said.

“In recent years, there have been increasing numbers of measles cases both nationally and globally, which is a significant concern.

“Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccination rates have declined among our pediatric population under the age of five, which are the most vulnerable group for serious illness and death from measles.”

Adelaide-based general practitioner and immunisation expert Rod Pearce agreed the trend was “worrying”.

He said it emerged as a significant topic at a recent gathering of 200 health experts.

“We are worried we are going to just come under the 90 per cent vaccination rate for children (in Australia) which is required for ‘herd immunity’,” Dr Pearce said.

Dr Rod Pearce said described as ‘worrying’ a drop-off in vaccination rates for kids.

“It is a disease that we set the bar at 90 per cent because without that we can’t actually stop the spread in Australia … we just don’t get protection.

“If the vaccination drops below 90 per cent, we will have outbreaks and people will die and also suffer long-term effects from a nasty disease that is totally preventable … (such as) permanent brain damage caused by inflammatory encephalitis.”

As of last month the vaccination rate for kids aged two years old was sitting at 92.65 per cent, dropping below the national target of 95 per cent.

Dr Pearce said the drop-off was both frustrating and perplexing – with the nation’s three-jab immunisation program protecting individuals for life.

“We’ve got tried and true vaccines and some of the best in the world, we know they are safe …measles is a nasty disease, it is very infectious but we can actually intervene,”he said.

Data from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) shows that between January and June, 19, 2024, there have been a total of 40 confirmed cases of measles across Australia.

New South Wales has had the most with 16, followed by Victoria with 10.

So far this year in South Australia there have been six, compared to three for all of 2023.

Dr Pearce said health professionals were desperate to reverse a drop-off in vaccination rates in kids post Covid – for measles and other viruses such as the flu.

“It is a concern and something we have been talking about,” he said.

“We are asking, is there some vaccine hesitancy, is it resistance … is this going to be an ongoing issue or just a slight hiccup?”

Originally published as Are anti-vaxxers driving ‘worrying’ rise of measles in SA? Experts urge parents to immunise children