‘Highly infectious’ deadly disease spreads in Australia
Measles is spreading locally within Australia after two people caught the highly contagious viral infection without travelling overseas.
Health authorities believe the pair likely acquired the potentially deadly disease somewhere in metropolitan Melbourne, as they had no history of overseas travel or known contact with other cases.
“This means there is now local transmission of measles in the community,” Victorian Chief Health Officer Tarun Weeramanthri said on Friday.
The duo were infectious when visiting 19 locations across greater Bendigo and metropolitan Melbourne.
They include the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Bendigo Hospital emergency departments, a Keilor East swimming pool, supermarkets in Epsom and Bendigo, a beautician in Aberfeldie and Timezone at Highpoint Shopping Centre in Maribyrnong.
Those who attended a listed exposure site at specified times have been advised to monitor for symptoms.
These can include a fever, cough, sore or red eyes, runny nose, and feeling generally unwell, followed by a red bumpy rash.
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Symptoms can develop up to 18 days after exposure with people warned to be vigilant as initial symptoms may be similar to Covid-19 or the flu.
People are potentially infectious from 24 hours before experiencing symptoms until four days after the rash appears.
The virus can spread through airborne droplets or contact with nose or throat secretions and contaminated surfaces and objects, lasting for up to two hours in the environment.
Eight measles cases have been identified in Victoria so far in 2025 after at least 15 in the state last year.
Friday’s alert for Victoria came just a week after a similar warning in Sydney.
NSW Health said a person confirmed with measles after visiting South-East Asia had gone to several sites in Sydney while infectious. They included a Westfield shopping centre, shops, restaurants and a pub. See more details here.
NSW Health communicable diseases director Dr Christine Selvey said while the locations posed no ongoing risk, anyone who had visited at times of suspected contact should be on the lookout for symptoms.
“It’s important for people to stay vigilant if they’ve been exposed, and if they develop symptoms, to please call ahead to their GP or emergency department to ensure they do not spend time in the waiting room with other patients,” she said.
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“This should be a reminder for everyone to check that they are protected against measles, which is very infectious.”
Reported measles cases in Australia fell from just over 280 in 2019 to 38 between 2020 to 2022, including none in 2021, amid Covid-19 international travel restrictions.
As Australia reopened to the world, reported national cases rebounded to 26 in 2023 and 57 in 2024.
Anyone born in or since 1966 who has no documented evidence of receiving two doses of a measles-containing vaccine is at risk of contracting the disease.
Unvaccinated infants are at particularly high risk, and pregnant women and anyone with a weakened immune system are more susceptible to suffering serious complications.
All Australians are eligible to receive the free measles-mumps-rubella vaccine if born during or after 1966.
People are urged get the vaccine before travelling overseas, especially those planning to fly to South and South-East Asian countries, including Vietnam.
Outbreaks of measles have been reported in Asia, Africa, Europe and Britain, the Middle East and the US.
A widening outbreak in West Texas led to the first US death from the illness in a decade this week.
US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who denied in his Senate confirmation hearings that he is anti-vaccinations, said 124 people had contracted the disease in the outbreak. Of those, 20 of them are quarantined in hospital.
“There have been four measles outbreaks this year,” he said during a meeting of US President Donald Trump’s cabinet at the White House.
“In this country last year, [there were] over 16.
“So it’s not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year.”
See more information about measles here
– with AAP
