Health warning after infectious disease spreads in Australia

Health authorities have urged the public to be on alert for a highly infectious disease.

 Two children and a young woman contracted measles and spent time in western Sydney, visiting several public places between March 16 and 23.

They had not been vaccinated.

This brings the total number of measles infections in NSW to 11 for 2017, eight of which were acquired overseas.

The most recent case in Sydney involved an infectious person who travelled from Bangkok to Sydney on March 2.

Read more: Health warning issued to Australian travelers.

Measles is highly contagious and is spread in the air through coughing or sneezing by someone who is unwell with the disease.

Symptoms include fever, sore eyes and a cough followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash spreading from the head and neck to the rest of the body.

Over the past five years, NSW Health said the number of people bringing measles into the state from outside the country had varied between two and 28 cases a year.

Travellers have brought back measles from destinations including Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

The disease is no longer seasonal in Australia but this reinforced the importance of getting vaccinated to protect against the disease.

NSW Health said anyone born during or since 1966 should have two doses of vaccine at least four weeks apart. For young children, the vaccine is recommended at 12 months and 18 months of age.

In the UK it is scarlet fever that has been on the increase, with over 700 cases reported across England and Wales.

Scarlet Fever gets its name from the pinkish rash it causes and usually follows a sore throat or a skin infection, such as impetigo, caused by particular strains of streptococcus bacteria.

It usually affected children under the age of 10.

Although there has yet to be an outbreak in Australia there have been increases in cases in Hong Kong and China too.

Have you made sure all your vaccinations are up to date, for all family members?