Professor Anthony Lawler, Chief Medical Officer, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care
With ongoing measles outbreaks overseas, we have seen a recent increase in confirmed cases across Australia, most commonly in unvaccinated and under-vaccinated adults aged 20 to 49 years. It is important to remember that measles is a vaccine-preventable disease.
I am concerned by declining vaccination rates, which currently sit below the target of 95 per cent required for herd immunity. I urge you to remind your patients that vaccination is the best protection against measles.
Measles is a very serious and highly transmissible disease. In an unvaccinated or under-vaccinated population, a single contagious person can potentially infect up to 18 other people. Measles can cause complications in up to one in three unvaccinated people. Significant complications include brain swelling, pneumonia, pregnancy loss, and lasting disability such as deafness, seizures, and serious movement problems. A small number of people die from progressive brain inflammation many years after their initial infection.
People are also more likely to catch other illnesses such as influenza, chickenpox or whooping cough after recovery from measles, even if they only had mild illness. Loss of immune memory can cause people to become more ill, more often, from diseases they were previously immune to. This means people could require repeat immunisation.
Adults can also spread measles to babies and young children, who are more likely to suffer serious complications from measles.
I want to take this opportunity to emphasise the critical role of vaccination in preventing measles. Vaccination is safe and highly effective in protecting against infectious diseases. In Australia, two doses of measles vaccine offers 99 per cent protection against illness and serious complications.
The combination measles vaccine is recommended for:
- children aged 12 and 18 months
- adolescents and adults born since 1966 who have not received two doses of a measles-containing vaccine
- infants aged 6 months to less than 12 months who may be travelling overseas or to high-risk areas.
Vaccination is important for adults with higher risk of exposure, particularly:
- people travelling, or returning from, overseas
- healthcare workers
- childhood educators and carers
- people who work in long-term care and correctional facilities.
The measles vaccine is available for free for eligible children under the National Immunisation Program (NIP). Eligible people under 20 years of age and humanitarian entrants or refugees of any age can also get free NIP catch-up vaccinations. The measles vaccine can also be purchased privately by patients who are not eligible for a free vaccine under the NIP.
I urge you to speak with your patients about being vaccinated to protect themselves against measles. We know that a positive recommendation from a trusted health professional is an important factor in people deciding to accept vaccination. I strongly encourage you to check that your patients are up to date with their immunisations and provide any catch-up vaccinations that may be required.
Thank you for your assistance in preventing the spread of measles, and in safeguarding the health of our communities.
Key information for WA clinicians
At 8 May 2025, Western Australia has recorded 17 measles cases since 19 March 2025.
For immunocompetent individuals, the MMR and MMRV vaccines can be administered at the same time as other vaccines such as the influenza vaccine or routine vaccinations, using separate syringes and injection sites.
Funded measles vaccines:
- Measles combination vaccine is provided at no cost under the National Immunisation Program for children aged 12 months and 18 months.
- A state funded adult measles vaccination program is available for Western Australians born after 1965, who have not already received two doses of a measles-containing vaccine.
- Free catch-up immunisations are available through the National Immunisation Program for:
- people who are aged under 20 years without evidence of two doses of a measles-containing vaccine
- refugees and humanitarian entrants of any age.
- NEW: WA Department of Health has expanded the Measles Immunisation Program to include funded measles-containing vaccines for infants aged six months to 12 months who are travelling overseas to countries where measles is endemic or circulating (after an individual risk assessment), or to infants between six and 12 months of age if they have recently been exposed to someone with measles while they were infectious. Available through GPs and travel clinics
Refer to the Measles Chapter in the Australian Immunisation Handbook for detailed advice, vaccine dosage and contraindications.
Read the full Metropolitan Perth and South West measles alert – 30 April 2025