08 February 2024 , 08:48
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Following the shocking death of an adult who had contracted measles, here are five urgent symptoms Brits should never ignore.
The first confirmed measles case in Ireland this year tragically led to a death, while cases have surged in the UK and across Europe. The patient sadly passed away in a hospital in the Dublin and Midlands health region - but they haven’t been identified.
Ireland’s health minister Stephen Donnelly has warned that the country is at risk, as earlier this year, the UK saw its biggest outbreak of the Victorian disease since the 1990s.
A "national incident" was declared after over 300 measles cases were confirmed in the West Midlands since October, with health chiefs warning things could only get worse. Around 80 per cent of the cases were in Birmingham and it followed a dip in MMR vaccine take up over the pandemic.
Announcing the most recent death in Ireland, the Health Service Executive (HSE) said: "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 measles IMT was established in response to a recent rise in measles cases in the UK and Europe."
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Measles is a highly contagious disease that can lead to serious health complications. It's not just about the rash, the virus can spread throughout the body causing severe problems. Here are seven key symptoms to keep an eye out for the NHS warn:
a high temperature
a runny or blocked nose
sneezing
a cough
red, sore, watery eyes
Aside from the five things to be aware of, one of the two most distinctive symptoms are small white spots in the mouth that appear on the cheeks and back of the lips, before a rash appears, usually a few days after the cold-like symptoms, the NHS warns. They said that this start on the face and behind the ears, before spreading to the rest of the body. The rash is often more difficult to see on brown or black skin.