Two confirmed cases of measles in Nelson over the past month, after no cases for six years, requires we all help prevent an outbreak.
Measles kills more than 100,000 people globally each year – most are children under five. The toll was more than 2 million per year before the measles vaccine was introduced, in NZ in 1969. My mother was infected with measles when she was pregnant with me in that era, was terribly unwell and this caused health complications for me as a child.
It is worrying that the second Nelson measles case is not currently traceable to any of the other cases around NZ nor international travel, indicating we may have community transmission of measles in Nelson.
The added concern of health professionals is that our MMR immunisation rates are insufficient to prevent an outbreak. They have fallen 10% from 89% in 2017/18 to 79% in 2024/25. A 95% immunisation rate is needed to achieve herd immunity and prevent an outbreak.
Samoa has salutary lessons on how deadly measles can be. A steamer from NZ introduced measles in 1893 causing the death of more than 1000 people out of a population of 34,500. The more recent outbreak in 2019 was caused by a sharp drop in immunisation rates in years prior. It resulted in 83 fatalities and a state of emergency being declared.
It will be too late to get immunised if a major outbreak occurs in Nelson. This is because measles is one of the most contagious diseases known and has a long incubation period of about 21 days.
We need Nelsonians to do two things to prevent an outbreak. Call the Vaccination Helpline (0800 282 926) to check on your and your children’s immunity status. If not immunised, or not sure, get it done at a pharmacy, doctor or vaccination clinic – it is free and gives lifelong protection. Secondly, if you suspect you have measles, stay home, call Healthline (0800 611 116) and follow the advice.
I am hopeful we can avoid an outbreak, but regardless, we need to get Nelson’s MMR immunisation rates up. Measles is on the increase internationally; future cases are likely and by increasing community immunity, we make everyone safer.
