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MEASLES

Austrian city suspends bus services over measles case

The Austrian city of Klagenfurt indefinitely suspended its bus services Wednesday after a case of measles was detected in one of the drivers.

Published: 10 April 2019 22:04 CEST
Austrian city suspends bus services over measles case
Photo: AFP

“All bus traffic is suspended until further notice in order to prevent infection,” the city's KMG public transport operator announced.

The company runs all public transport in the southern city of 100,000 inhabitants, which is also the state capital of Carinthia.

It took the unusual measure after it was revealed that one driver had been diagnosed with measles on 3 April.

Since then two further suspected cases have been reported.

KMG said it was working to establish “the vaccination status of all drivers” before authorising bus services to restart and was embarking on a deep clean of its vehicles.

The resurgence of measles, a once-eradicated and highly-contagious disease, is linked to a growing anti-vaccine movement in richer nations — which the World Health Organization has identified as a major global health threat.

On Tuesday, New York mayor Bill de Blasio declared a public health emergency in parts of the city, ordering all residents of certain districts in Brooklyn to be vaccinated to fight a measles outbreak concentrated in the 
ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.

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MEASLES

Measles is spreading in Switzerland: Here’s what you should know about prevention

Among many decisions you must make in a new country is how to keep yourself and your family healthy. In Switzerland, an important thing to consider is whether everyone's measles shots are up to date. That's because cases of this very contagious disease are on the rise.

Published: 25 October 2019 09:19 CEST
Updated: 25 October 2019 10:58 CEST
Measles is spreading in Switzerland: Here's what you should know about prevention
This article explains how the measles vaccination works in Switzerland. Photo: George Frey/Getty Images/AFP

How serious is the situation in Switzerland?

According to the Federal Office of Public Health, there have been 214 reported cases of measles in this country of 8.5 million people in the first nine months of the year. That is six times more than in the same period in 2018. Two people died from this illness – a 30-year-old man who had never been vaccinated, and a cancer patient whose immunity was weakened.

Is the measles vaccine mandatory in Switzerland?

It is not compulsory but recommended to infants at nine months of age and a booster shot at 12 months. According to Infovac, Switzerland's information service about immunisations, these two doses are 97 percent effective and give lifetime protection from measles.

But isn't measles a benign childhood illness?

Not always. About one in six unvaccinated people will suffer complications from this illness. Sometimes they can be very serious, including pneumonia and inflammation of the brain tissue.

Can everyone be vaccinated?

If that were the case, measles would be eradicated. A small number of people can't be vaccinated because of pre-existing conditions such as allergies to the vaccine's components. However, those cases are rare.

Is measles vaccine safe?

The weight of scientific evidence shows that measles vaccines, as well as other recommended childhood vaccines such as whooping cough, mumps, rubella and tetanus, are safe. If reactions do occur they are usually mild and short-lasting.

Can adults be vaccinated as well?

Yes, it is never too late to get immunised against measles, especially if you don't know whether you were vaccinated as a child. Doctors can check a patient's immunity levels with a blood test to detect if antibodies that fight measles are present.

Where can I go to get vaccinated?

Ask your doctor. He or she will be able to advise you.

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