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Adult dies in Ireland after contracting measles | World News<\/p>\n
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An adult who had contracted measles has died in a hospital in Ireland, the country’s health service executive (HSE) has said.<\/p>\n
It is the first confirmed measles<\/strong> case in Ireland in 2024.<\/p>\n There were four measles cases reported in the country in 2023 and two in 2022.<\/p>\n While no cases were reported in 2021, there were five recorded in 2020, the HSE said, with no deaths reported in any of those years.<\/p>\n The adult died in a hospital in the Dublin and Midlands health region.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong> What are the symptoms of measles?<\/strong><\/p>\n “HSE public health teams, along with the HSE measles national incident management team (IMT), are taking all necessary public health actions in relation to the case,” the HSE said in a statement on Wednesday.<\/p>\n “The HSE measles IMT was established in response to a recent rise in measles cases in the UK and Europe.<\/p>\n “The HSE will keep the public informed of further measures and, in the meantime, anyone with concerns should contact their GP.”<\/p>\n It comes after the World Health Organization warned of an “alarming” rise in cases <\/strong>across Europe.<\/p>\n Suspected cases of the disease have also been on the rise in England.<\/p>\n Last week, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said an ongoing measles outbreak in the West Midlands “remains a concern”.<\/strong><\/p>\n It said 127 cases of the disease were confirmed across England in January, with 347 laboratory-confirmed measles cases reported in England since 1 October last year. In comparison, just 53 cases were confirmed in all of 2022.<\/p>\n Three quarters – or 260 – of these cases were in the West Midlands, while 46 (13%) were in London and 24 (7%) in Yorkshire and the Humber.<\/p>\n Dr Vanessa Saliba, UKHSA’s consultant epidemiologist, said: “MMR vaccine coverage has been falling for the last decade with one out of 10 children starting school in England not protected and so there is a real risk that this outbreak could spread to other towns and cities.<\/p>\n “Measles is a nasty illness for most children and for some can be serious, but it is completely preventable.”<\/p>\n