A doctor has warned of the seriousness of the measles as an outbreak of the disease in Dublin has now spread to Meath.
There have been twelve confirmed cases of the illness in the capital, and a further five in neighbouring Meath, prompting the HSE to release a health warning.
Dr Deirdre Mulholland warned about the side-effects of the “very serious disease” saying:
“This is a very serious disease and can have very serious consequences and it is also a highly infectious disease.
“It’s important that we can get the message out there that measles is circulating in the community.”
She said: “Some people can weather it quite well whereas we can have other people who become seriously ill with it and can develop other complications and end up in hospital.”
“What we find is… that from first exposure, it would usually show up within 14 days but it can take up to 21 days.”
The symptoms are:
- High fever
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Red eyes
- Red Rash
- Vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach pain.
Speaking to RTE Radio One, Dr. Mulholland also advised that the MMR Vaccine was the best protection against the illness, saying:
“It doesn’t just protect yourself, it protects your family and your community and the vulnerable people in the community”.
She advised that four days before and four days after a person develops a rash is “the real infectious period that people need to be very aware of”.
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