'We're really worried it's taking hold': Australia's measles crisis deepens as tourist who travelled across the country becomes the 84th case THIS YEAR
- Aussies travelling overseas should ensure that they've been vaccinated before
- The 84th confirmed case this year was international backpacker in Vic hostel
- The man then traveled to interstate locations, including Sydney and Brisbane
- Australia recorded 103 confirmed cases last year and only 81 confirmed in 2017
Australians travelling overseas have been warned to ensure that they have been vaccinated against measles as experts warn of the contagious disease spreading.
The latest case confirmed so far this year, bringing the toll up to 84, was a 30-year-old male international backpacker who caught the disease in a Melbourne hostel.
Australia recorded a total of 2,013 confirmed cases of measles in 2018 and just 81 in 2017.
Australians travelling overseas have been warned to ensure that they have been vaccinated against measles as experts warn of the contagious disease spreading (stock image)
The contaminated man then traveled to several popular interstate locations, including the Opera House, before catching a train to Brisbane and staying at a Highgate Hill hostel.
NSW Health has issued several measles warnings in the past week, including after two infants became infected in Sydney and two unvaccinated Australians brought the disease in from Asia.
Health Minister, Greg Hunt, said 95 percent of the community needs to be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity to prevent the spread of the disease.
The contaminated man then traveled to several popular interstate locations, including the Opera House, before catching a train to Brisbane and staying at a Highgate Hill hostel (stock image)
'Immunisation saves lives. The measles vaccine is very effective at protecting lives,' he said in a statement.
He also claimed that 93.5 percent of two-year-old children had received two doses of the medicine.
NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty claimed the drastic increase in cases Australia was a serious concern.
'We're really worried it could take hold here,' he told AAP.
Dr McAnulty also said that the latest spate of contamination's are a result of foreign travelers bringing the disease in from overseas.
Australians could even catch the disease just by sitting in international airports, he claimed.
'People traveling to London and stopping off in Dubai are exposed to a mass of people from around the world.'
Australia recorded a total of 2,013 confirmed cases of measles in 2018 and just 81 in 2017
It can take up to 10 days for symptoms of the disease to start to appear, but in others a rash can break out within just four days.
Despite symptoms not appearing immediately, people can get infected soon after being exposed, said Dr McAnulty, adding that the best prevention was immunisation.
He said that anyone concerned that they may be infected should report it directly to a doctor, rather than potentially infecting others in a waiting room.
For people who were born after 1965 are unsure if they have been fully vaccinated, public health records are available to check on the Australian Immunisation Register, which has records from 1996 forwards.
World Health Organisation Western Pacific Regional Director, Dr Takeshi Kasai, said measles spreads like wildfire.
'It is the most contagious human disease, and it's very good at seeking out and spreading among even small groups of people who are not immune,' he said.
All people born in 1965 or earlier will already be immune while babies headed overseas can be given one measles shot from nine months old.
Otherwise, anyone can visit a GP for a free vaccination.
