‘Young tourist’ tests positive as all people using health centres will have to wear face masks to cut spread
Measles has been detected in Mallorca after a young tourist tested positive(Image: Getty)
An alert has been issued after a hotspot much loved by UK tourists was hit by an outbreak of measles, with a young tourist testing positive. The Public Health Surveillance Service has detected at least six people affected by a measles outbreak in Mallorca, the Balearic Regional Ministry of Health has reported in a statement.
The patients have been treated at the same hospital, as their cases are linked, although the source of the infection does not originate from the healthcare setting and has therefore been classified as a community outbreak. To try to clamp down on the outbreak all people using health centres will have to wear face masks.
The epidemiological investigation has determined that the first case was that of a young child on holiday who attended the paediatric A&E department at Son Espases University Hospital on July 19. The secondary cases began to show symptoms at the end of July. The Majorca Daily Bulletin has only just reported on the outbreak. No information has yet been released on the nationality of the tourist.
Five of the six people affected by the outbreak have not been vaccinated against measles, whilst there is no record of vaccination for the sixth. The Directorate-General for Public Health, in coordination with IBSalut Balearic health service and in accordance with the protocols of the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network, has activated a monitoring and control plan that includes immediate prevention and protection measures to contain the outbreak.
Public Health service in Majorca said it is carrying out contact tracing and has asked close contacts of those infected to monitor their health closely for 23 days following exposure, particularly those who are unvaccinated.
In addition, it has issued an internal recommendation for the use of FFP2 face masks in all healthcare settings as a priority measure for the prevention, protection and control of the outbreak, as well as mandatory self-monitoring for symptoms and a review of the vaccination status of all staff at health centres and hospitals in Mallorca.
The Foreign Office-backed Travel Health Pro site said: “Measles is a highly infectious viral illness, with potentially serious, life-threatening complications. Travel remains an important risk factor for the international spread of measles.
“Measles is spread by airborne or droplet (coughing, sneezing, drops from mouth/nose) transmission. Initial symptoms can include fever, runny nose, red, sore eyes (conjunctivitis) and cough. A rash usually then appears after a few days. This starts on the face/head and then spreads over the body, arms and legs in three to four days. People are infectious from the day symptoms first appear to four days after the rash starts. The incubation period (time from exposure to measles virus to symptoms starting) is about ten days but can be between seven and 18 days.”
Complications of measles infection can include otitis media (ear infections), diarrhoea, pneumonia and convulsions (fits). Rarely, encephalitis (brain inflammation) or sub-acute sclerosing pan-encephalitis (fatal late onset brain inflammation) can occur. Risk of death from measles complications is age-related and is higher for children younger than one year and adults. Measles can be more severe in immunosuppressed individuals and during pregnancy, and increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, or preterm delivery.
It added: “Travellers with no history of measles infection or who are unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated may be at risk from measles when visiting countries reporting cases, especially if staying with friends or family and mixing with local people.”
All UK travellers should make sure they are up to date with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) or measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox (MMRV) vaccines, according to current UK recommendations.