The Department of Health has issued a warning of measles exposure risks across metropolitan Melbourne and some parts of regional Victoria, as a fourth case of the condition has been confirmed.
The cases are raising concern as those involved haven’t travelled internationally, indicating they’ve contracted measles locally.
Measles is said to be rare in Victoria as their widespread vaccines, and 94 per cent of Victorian children are fully immunised.
Last Friday, a young Victorian woman who travelled to Brisbane contracted the virus.
Measles is a highly infectious viral disease that can cause serious illness.
A rash usually appears three to five days after the first symptoms develop, and it can spread before symptoms show.
Victoria’s Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Finn Romanes says that people should be alert to symptoms like fever, sore throat, coughing and red eyes.
Children with both courses of the measles vaccine are extremely unlikely to contract the disease.
