Outbreak report: measles cluster in south-eastern Sydney with transmission in a general practice waiting room

This article published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 25, No 1, January 2001 contains a report on an outbreak of measles in south-eastern Sydney.

Page last updated: 14 March 2001

A print friendly PDF version is available from this Communicable Diseases Intelligence issue's table of contents.


Contributed by the Infectious Diseases Team and Director, South Eastern Sydney Public Health Unit, Zetland, NSW


South Eastern Sydney Public Health Unit recently investigated a cluster of 5 cases of measles with onset in December 2000. The index case was a 31-year-old male who presented to his doctor with a rash and fever. The diagnosis was confirmed by a positive measles IgM assay at a private pathology laboratory. The illness was thought to have been acquired through occupational exposure in another health area. The second and third cases were siblings aged 18 months and 3 years who were thought to have become infected after a few minutes' contact with the index case in the waiting room of a local general practice. Measles was subsequently transmitted to 2 other children, aged 5 and 4 years, who were childcare contacts of the second case. All 4 affected children had documentation of one MMR vaccination at 1 year of age whilst the 5-year-old had documentation of a second MMR vaccine dose at 4 to 5 years of age. In addition to the index case, laboratory confirmation was obtained for 3 of the 4 subsequent cases by the Serology and Virology Laboratories, SEALS Randwick. In 2 cases, measles IgM was detected, and in 2 cases measles antigen was detected in throat swabs by direct immunofluorescence.


This article was published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence Volume 25, No 1, January 2001.

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This issue - Vol 25, No 1, January 2001