State of emergency over measles outbreak

 THE Western Highlands health authority has declared a state of emergency on a measles outbreak after receiving three confirmed cases.

Authority chief executive officer Dr James Kintwa said blood samples had been sent to the central public health laboratory in Port Moresby last week.

Awareness and mass immunisation have begun in Mt Hagen and will extend to Mul-Baiyer, Dei and Tambul-Nebilyer this week.

Kintwa said measles was a highly contagious viral infection. A vaccine developed in 1963 to cure it had reduced deaths by 85%. But he said even though an effective vaccine was widely used, measles continued to exist in developed countries.

“We will work together in the fight to save lives against measles,” he said.

It is transmitted through direct contact with an infected person through kissing, sneezing or coughing into the air.

He said the virus invaded the mucus membranes of the nose and respiratory tract and spread to the lymph nodes entering the bloodstream and infecting the skin, kidney and liver.

He said it was best to get prevention at the early stage. He said cough, runny nose, red eyes, fatigue and fever which could go as high as 38 degree Celsius were symptoms of measles.

“Next the person develops a typical rash on the inside of the mouth called a Koplik spot.”

There will be some white spots inside the cheeks close to the molars but after two days Koplik spots are gone after the rash appears.

Kintwa said measles could develop pneumonia, diarrhoea, middle ear infection, hepatitis, low blood platelet count and even brain infections.

He said people likely to get infected were under the age of five and adults over 20.