A Dunedin Hospital staff member has been diagnosed with measles, increasing the risk of an Otago outbreak, Southern District Health Board medical officer of health Dr Derek Bell said.
The female staff member had contact with patients for one shift last Monday, and then flew from Dunedin to Auckland on Tuesday, returning on Friday. She was diagnosed on Saturday, and was at present in isolation at home, Dr Bell said yesterday.
Air New Zealand had provided passenger details for the flights (NZ672 and NZ673) and Public Health South was contacting those in proximity to the person.
Close contacts of the hospital staff member had been isolated for two weeks, and patients were being contacted.
Sixty-two people were being contacted, although Dr Bell could not say how many of them were plane passengers.
He declined to elaborate on the staff member's role or the ward she worked in.
Before she realised she was ill there had been "countless opportunities" for people to have been exposed to her, he said.
She had had contact in a clinical setting with the Cumberland College resident who became infected with measles last month. That infection was attributed to a Wellington student who visited the hostel in September, and later became ill.
New Zealand was experiencing a measles outbreak, mainly in Auckland. Up until October 27, there were 373 cases this year, 295 of them in Auckland.
Adults born before 1969 were presumed to have natural immunity from the highly infectious disease. People born from 1969 onwards should check they had had two doses of vaccine, he said.
Parents should ensure their children were vaccinated, for measles, mumps and rubella, at 15 months and 4 years.
