Measles outbreak on Jetstar flight
Three people on a Jetstar flight from Indonesia to Brisbane contracted measles last Wednesday.
Queensland Health has called on all passengers who flew on Jetstar Airlines flight JQ46, which left Denpasar on October 15, to carefully monitor for symptoms of the highly contagious disease and to contact their GP if they feel unwell, reports News.com.au.
Symptoms include fever, tiredness, runny nose, cough and sore red eyes which usually last for several days before a red, blotchy rash appears.
Acting Senior Director of Communicable Diseases, Dr Alun Richards warns that measles is highly contagious among people who are not fully immunised and the infection can spread through coughing and sneezing.
Passengers who were seated closest to the infected passengers will be contacted by local health units.
Susceptible passengers who may have been exposed to measles on this flight could expect symptoms to appear any time between October 23 and November 3, reports the Daily Mail.
Dr Richards said children should receive two doses of measles vaccine. One at 12 months and one at four years of age.
People born during or after 1966 who have not received the two doses of measles vaccine are at highest risk, he said.
Dr Richards recommends phoning ahead when seeking medical attention to ensure they don't share the waiting area with other patients.
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