Travellers on a plane from Melbourne to Canberra on Monday have been warned to be aware of measles symptoms after a passenger on the flight became infected during an overseas trip.
ACT Health said it was the second case of measles it had been alerted to in 2015.
Acting ACT chief health officer Dr Andrew Pengilley said the person was travelling from Melbourne to Canberra on a Virgin Airlines flight.
“Members of the public … may have been exposed on Virgin Airlines Flight VA277, which departed Melbourne at 3:50pm on Monday June 15, and arrived at approximately 5:15pm in Canberra,” Dr Pengilley said.
“Anyone on this flight who is pregnant, has impaired immunity or is not vaccinated against measles, should contact ACT Health on (02) 6205 2155.
“Members of the public may also have been incidentally exposed to measles when the case arrived at the Canberra Airport between 5:15pm and 6:30pm on 15 June. The chance of contracting measles from this is low.”
Dr Pengilley said anyone on the flight or at Canberra Airport should seek medical attention if they experienced symptoms of measles.
“These symptoms include fever, tiredness, runny nose, sore eyes and a cough (much like a severe cold), followed by a rash which appears two to seven days later,” he said.
“Anyone with symptoms of measles should advise their health provider before they arrive at the medical clinic so appropriate infection control precautions can be put in place to stop the spread of the infection.”
Measles is a potentially serious disease. The virus is spread from an infectious person during coughing and sneezing or through direct contact with secretions from the nose or mouth.
People generally develop symptoms seven to 18 days after being exposed to a person with infectious measles, with 10 days being more common.
People are infectious from five days before they develop a rash until four days after.
“The most effective protection against measles is vaccination,” Dr Pengilley said.
“Two doses of Measles Mumps Rubella vaccine (MMR) are recommended and are normally given to children at 12 and 18 months of age. However the vaccine can be given at any age after nine months.”