LAST UPDATE | 7 Feb

AN ADULT HAS died with a confirmed measles case.

The HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre this evening said the death took place in a hospital in the Dublin and Midlands Health Region.

This is the first confirmed measles case to be notified in Ireland so far this year.

A HSE spokesperson said public health teams, along with the HSE Measles National Incident Management Team (IMT), are taking all necessary public health actions in relation to the case.

The HSE Measles IMT was established in response to a recent rise in measles cases in the UK and Europe.

There were four measles cases reported in Ireland in 2023, two cases reported in 2022, no cases were reported in 2021, and five cases were reported in 2020. 

There were no deaths reported in any of those years.

Symptoms of measles include cold-like symptoms such as aches and pains, a runny nose, sneezing and a cough.

Other symptoms include:

• Sore red eyes that may be sensitive to light
• A temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or above, which may reach around 40 degrees Celsius
• Small greyish-white spots in your mouth
• Loss of appetite
• Tiredness and a general lack of energy
• Rash, which usually appears on head and neck first and spreads to rest of body

If you have these symptoms, you should seek medical advice and phone ahead prior to attending your GP, Emergency Department or other healthcare provider to inform the healthcare professionals that you have these symptoms, so they can make necessary arrangements.

You should also alert medical staff if you have been in contact with someone who has measles or if you have recently travelled to an area where you know measles has been spreading.

Chief medical officer Breda Smyth has said she is concerned that Ireland is at high risk of an outbreak because the vaccination rate is under the 95% needed to stop the virus spreading.

The update rate for the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine is at 89.2% in Ireland, and in some areas has fallen below 80%.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly briefed Cabinet on the risk of a measles outbreak and said about one in five young men in Ireland aged around 19-21 are not vaccinated against the virus.

Authorities believe misinformation in the past affected the number of children who received the MMR vaccine.

An MMR catch-up programme launched in November 2023 through GPs aims for those who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated to opt in.

The vaccine is free from GPs for children aged 10 and under.

-With additional reporting from Press Association