Health officials have issued a public health alert following a case of measles that was confirmed in the Dublin and Midlands health region.
The Health Service Executive has issued a public health alert and is advising anyone who was at a restaurant in Mullingar Business Park between 2pm and 4.30pm on Monday 29 January or who travelled on the 115 Bus Éireann route on Monday 5 February that they may have been exposed to the virus.
The HSE said anyone affected should be aware of the signs and symptoms of measles and ensure they are vaccinated.
The signs and symptoms include:
- Cold-like symptoms such as aches and pains, a runny nose, sneezing and a cough
- Sore red eyes that may be sensitive to light
- A temperature of 38C or above, which may reach around 40C
- Small greyish-white spots in the mouth
- Loss of appetite
- Tiredness, irritability and a general lack of energy
- Rash, which usually appears on head and neck first, and spreads to the rest of the body
The HSE said if a person did not receive two doses of the MMR vaccine they should contact their GP as soon as possible.
It also said it offers MMR vaccines to all children and a catch-up option for those aged ten and under who may have missed out on a vaccination.
An adult with a confirmed case of measles died in Leinster earlier this week. It is the first confirmed measles case notified in Ireland this year.
The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has reported nine cases of suspected measles as of Saturday 3 February.
The figures are contained in its Weekly Infectious Disease Report and are provisional as they have yet to be confirmed by laboratory testing.
Seven of the cases are reported as possible cases of measles and two are of probable measles.
There were four measles cases reported in 2023, two in 2022, none in 2021 and five in 2020.
No deaths were reported in any of those years.
