Measles and Whooping Cough outbreak

10th May 2024

There have been significant outbreaks of both Measles and Whooping Cough within our practice area. We especially encourage pregnant women and parents of un-vaccinated children to come forward for vaccination to reduce the risk of serious complications resulting from infection.

The MMR vaccine protects your child from Measles, as well as Mumps and Rubella.

The Pertussis vaccine protects you and your child from Whooping Cough, and is given to the parent during pregnancy, and in several doses to the child as part of their routine immunisations.

In the interests of patient and staff safety, please do not attend the practice in person if you believe you may be suffering from Measles or Whooping Cough. Instead please contact us via accuRx or call us to arrange a remote consultation.

Measles

Measles is an infection that spreads very easily and can cause serious problems in some people. Having the MMR vaccine is the best way to prevent it.

Check if you or your child has measles

Measles usually starts with cold-like symptoms, followed by a rash a few days later. Some people may also get small spots in their mouth.

Cold-like symptoms

The first symptoms of measles include:

  • a high temperature
  • a runny or blocked nose
  • sneezing
  • a cough
  • red, sore, watery eyes

Spots in the mouth

A number of very small white spots inside a person’s mouth.

Small white spots may appear inside the cheeks and on the back of the lips a few days later. These spots usually last a few days.

The measles rash

A rash usually appears a few days after the cold-like symptoms.

The rash starts on the face and behind the ears before spreading to the rest of the body.

The measles rash on the forehead of a child with light brown skin. The rash looks like pale red blotchy patches.
The measles rash on a person with white skin. The person’s arms, chest and tummy are almost completely covered with red, blotchy patches.

The spots of the measles rash are sometimes raised and join together to form blotchy patches. They’re not usually itchy.

A close-up of the measles rash on someone with white skin, showing some raised red spots joined together to form blotchy patches.

The rash looks brown or red on white skin. It may be harder to see on brown and black skin.

The measles rash on a child with brown skin. The rash looks like pale red to brown blotchy patches covering the child's arm, chest and face.
The measles rash on the back of a child with dark brown skin. The rash looks like dark red to brown, slightly raised, blotchy patches covering the child’s back.

Whooping Cough

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a bacterial infection of the lungs and breathing tubes. It spreads very easily and can sometimes cause serious problems. It’s important for babies and children to get vaccinated against it.

Check if you or your child has whooping cough

The first signs of whooping cough are similar to a cold, such as a runny nose and sore throat (a high temperature is uncommon).

After about a week, you or your child:

  • will get coughing bouts that last for a few minutes and are worse at night
  • may make a “whoop” sound – a gasp for breath between coughs (young babies and some adults may not “whoop”)
  • may have difficulty breathing after a coughing bout and may turn blue or grey (young infants)
  • may bring up a thick mucus, which can make you vomit
  • may become very red in the face (more common in adults)

The cough may last for several weeks or months.