IT HAS been officially confirmed by the HSE that there are currently no suspected cases of measles in the Mid West region.
This comes as reports were made earlier today that two of nine suspected measles cases in Ireland were in the Mid West region.
In a statement to the Limerick Post this evening (Friday), a HSE community health spokesman said: “Public Health HSE Mid West can confirm that it investigated two suspected cases of measles, identified on Week 5 of 2024 (28/01-03/02), in the Mid West region.”
“This is reported in the Health Protection Surveillance Centre’s (HPSC) weekly infectious disease report, published on February 8, 2024.
“We can confirm that these have since been denotified following investigation and negative measles results, and are no longer suspected measles cases.
“At this time, we can confirm that there is no confirmed case of measles in the Mid West region.”
The spokesman added that “in the Mid West, one in 10 children are currently not up to date with their MMR vaccine. This presents an increased and concerning risk to measles outbreak occurring in the region.”
“The HSE offers MMR vaccine to protect against measles to all children as part of its childhood immunisation schedule. The HSE also offers a catch up MMR option for children aged 10 years and under who may have missed out on vaccination.
“The HSE will keep the public informed of further measures and, in the meantime, anyone with concerns should contact their GP.”
This week, one fatality from the disease was confirmed when a man in Dublin died after contracting measles.
The HSE has issued an alert to people countrywide who took buses or were in restaurants used by the 48-year-old deceased man.
The alert applies to anyone who travelled on the 115 Bus Éireann route between Dublin and Mullingar between Tuesday January 30 and Monday February 5 and anyone who was at a restaurant in Mullingar Business Park between 2pm and 4.30pm on Monday January 29.
Symptoms of measles may develop in the 21 days after exposure, the warning says.
In its latest Infectious Disease Report, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) says there were nine cases of suspected measles across the country in the week leading up to Saturday last (February 3).
Three cases were reported in the HSE East area (Dublin, Kildare, and Wicklow), three in the Midlands (Laois, Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath), two in the Mid West (Limerick, Clare, and North Tipperary), and one in the South of the country (Cork and Kerry).
There were four measles cases reported in Ireland during 2023, up from two cases in 2022. There were no confirmed cases in 2021 and five cases were reported in 2020, but there were no fatalities among the reported cases.
