Experts are concerned Australia could become “fertile ground” for measles to take hold if the disease is brought into the country amid outbreaks in the US and south-east Asia.
In the US more than 300 cases have been reported. Two people, including a child, have died in west Texas, the epicentre of the outbreak, which the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expects to “expand rapidly”.
When five cases of measles were confirmed in Victoria on 14 March the state’s chief health officer warned global case numbers were rising in Vietnam, Thailand, India, Africa, Europe and the UK, the Middle East, and the US.
Should Australians be concerned about global outbreaks?
The World Health Organization declared measles eliminated from Australia in 2014. However, small outbreaks occur regularly because…