SEVEN MORE MEASLES cases have been confirmed in Ireland, bringing the number of confirmed cases this year to 37.

The latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) show that in addition to the 37 confirmed cases, there are also 16 suspected cases currently under investigation.

Suspected cases of measles are tested in a laboratory, before being either officially confirmed as measles or denotified and several possible measles cases have been declassified in recent weeks.

Outbreaks

Six outbreaks have occurred so far in 2024, all of which occurred in private houses and involved between two and five cases in each outbreak.

Of the 37 confirmed cases this year, 18 are male, 17 are female, and the gender has not been recorded for two cases.

One case has been recorded within the 45-54 age group, and all the other cases are among people aged 34 and lower.

Ten cases have been confirmed among those aged 25-34, four cases among those aged 20-24, and the other 22 cases are among people aged 1-19.

Last Thursday, the HSE issued a warning that passengers on board a flight from London Gatwick to Dublin may have been exposed to measles.

The Ryanair flight FR123 travelled to Ireland on 16 May at 8.10pm.

The HSE said the alert relates to passengers and crew who were on board the aircraft, and those on the plane were asked to be “particularly vigilant for symptoms of measles for 21 days from exposure”.

Symptoms

Measles is a highly infectious disease that can cause serious complications.

Particularly vulnerable groups are children under one year of age, pregnant women, and people who are immunosuppressed.

A measles infection tends to start with cold-like symptoms that develop about 10 days after a person is infected, followed a few days later by a rash. Symptoms include:

• Cold-like symptoms (eg runny nose, sneezing, coughing)
• Sore, red eyes
• A temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or above
• A rash, which usually appears on the head and neck before spreading to the rest of the body.