CDA: 11-month-old girl who attends preschool positive for measles

SINGAPORE: The Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) of Singapore said in a statement on Tuesday (Feb 24) that it was notified that an 11-month-old girl attending preschool was confirmed to have measles on Feb 17.

Since the CDA announced earlier this month that it was stepping up public health measures due to the rise in the number of cases across the globe, this is the fifth measles case this year involving an infant below 12 months old.

The statement added that the child is recovering well and has no known recent travel or contact history.

Additionally, she was not yet due for her Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination, which is given in two doses at 12 months old and between 15 and 18 months old.

CDA added that an epidemiological investigation, the multi-step process to determine the cause, source, and transmission method of an infection, is ongoing.

As the child was attending preschool when she was infectious, the school reached out to the parents of the children she had been in close contact with.

Among the children who have been identified as her close contacts, all except four were on schedule with measles vaccinations or were in the process of getting vaccinated against the illness. They have not been issued quarantine orders.

The other four, who were issued quarantine orders, had those orders rescinded when they were vaccinated or received post-exposure prophylaxis.

“Vaccination is the best way to prevent measles infection. 87% of local measles cases recorded this year occurred in individuals who were not fully vaccinated. The MMR vaccine is highly effective and safe, and confers long-term immunity after completion of the recommended doses. High vaccination coverage not only protects individuals but creates herd immunity within the Singapore population, that protects those who are unable to receive vaccination, such as infants under 12 months and severely immunocompromised individuals,” the CDA added.

In related news, the CDA said on Monday (Feb 23) that a passenger on a Singapore Airlines flight on Feb 9 who was infected with measles is not linked to any other known local cases.

The passenger flew from Cambodia to Singapore, where they spent a layover that lasted two and a half hours. They then flew to Los Angeles.

The group director of CDA’s communicable diseases programmes, Associate Professor Lim Poh Lian, was quoted in CNA as saying that the person had been infected before arriving in Singapore, based on the onset date of his symptoms. /TISG

Read also: MOM: Maids are required to have measles immunity in households with young kids who aren’t fully vaccinated, as cases rise worldwide