Measles Vaccine Rash: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

Urgent Health Warning Over Rise In Potentially Deadly Disease As Cases Hit New High And HSE Share Symptoms

AN URGENT warning has been issued as outbreaks of a highly contagious disease are continuing to rise.

Measles cases in Ireland have risen to 81 so far this year and official figures show there were four outbreaks over the last month.

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The HSE is also now concerned over the decline in MMR vaccination ratesCredit: Getty Images - Getty

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Measles is a viral disease most commonly recognised by red spots or a rashCredit: Getty Images - Getty

There have now been a total of 17 people falling ill from the disease over the last five weeks, with 11 of those in the east and north-east and six in the north-west.

The HSE is also now concerned over the decline in MMR vaccination rates.

Measles is a viral disease most commonly recognised by red spots or a rash.

The disease spreads easily to those who have been in close contact with an infected person.

Symptoms of the infection usually show up 10 days after infection and the illness lasts about seven to 10 days.

Parents in particular are urged to be vigilant over their kid's symptoms as measles can look similar to other childhood illnesses such as slapped cheek syndrome, roseola or rubella.

The most vulnerable groups include babies under six months of age and pregnant women who have not been fully vaccinated or have not had measles before.

People with weak immune systems are also at risk.

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The HSE has confirmed that there have been 12 cases in Dublin and the norteast region over the last three months.

Fresh epidemic concerns as HSE fear measles outbreak is on the horizon with 'catch up' vaccine programme launched

The latest Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) outbreak report showed that between July 15 and 21, there was one outbreak of airborne measles.

This occurred between a family in a private house in the north-east and led to three confirmed cases.

There were then two more outbreaks between June 24 and July 15, the first leading four people to contract the illness at a residential institution in the east.

The second outbreak saw another four people sick in a private household also in the east with person-to-person transmission.

A further four cases were confirmed in a separate outbreak two weeks ago in the north-west.

Of the 81 confirmed cases this year, there have been 38 cases in men, 40 in women and the gender not disclosed in three.

The age range with the highest rate of cases was 25-34 year-olds with five to nine-year-olds and 15-19 year-olds following.

There has been less than five confirmed cases in babies under 12 months and none for those over 65.

The HSE has recorded 13 outbreaks this year among private homes, chool/residential institutions, community outbreaks or hospital outbreaks.

In each of the 13 outbreaks, there were between two and 12 confirmed cases, with 18 under investigation.

Those with weak immune systems include anyone suffering with HIV or people receiving treatment that weakens their immune system such as treatment for Leukaemia.

Any symptoms are unlikely to be caused by measles if you have received the two Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine, which is recommended for babies at 12 months old with the second dose given when they start school.

If you have not received the two MMR vaccines and would like to be vaccinated, you should contact your GP.

While a red rash all over the body is the most identifiable measles symptom, it is actually the last symptom to appear.

LESSER-KNOWN SYMPTOMS TO WATCH

THE HSE are urging the public to be on the lookout for the following lesser-known symptoms.

cold-like symptoms such as aches and pains, a runny nose, sneezing and a cough

sore, red eyes that may be sensitive to light

a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or above (fever), which may reach around 40 degrees Celsius

small greyish-white spots in your mouth

tiredness and lack of energy

Other symptoms include a loss of appetite and irritability.

The measles rash will appear two-four days after the other symptoms develop, appearing first on the head or neck and then spreading to the rest of the body.

The rash consists of small red-brown, flat or slightly raised spots which may join into larger blotchy patches.

The rash may also be slightly itchy.

According to the Annual Epidemiological Report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, there were 77 cases in 2018, 74 in 2019, 19 in 2020, none in 2021, only two in 2022 and four in 2023.

The Aliveness Project To Get Nearly $2 Million Fund Transfer From Rainbow Health To Close HIV Care Gap

The empty waiting room at Rainbow Health's offices in Minneapolis is pictured on July 22.

Ben HovlandMPR News

It's been nearly two weeks since Twin Cities-based Rainbow Health suddenly announced it was shutting down due to financial problems.

The closure of the LGBTQ+ and HIV health clinic opens a huge gap in services like housing programs, benefits counseling, legal services and case management.

Many of those services operated with funding from state and local governments, which are now looking for different organizations to run them. The Aliveness Project, another HIV services organization in the Twin Cities, is taking on state contracts to offer financial assistance.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services is transferring former Rainbow Health contract responsibilities to the Aliveness Project, effective immediately, while working with partners to coordinate the details of the transition.

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And Minneapolis has a plan to pay Aliveness to run a housing voucher program.

The city council voted Tuesday in favor of transferring nearly $2 million in federal grant funding from Rainbow Health to the Aliveness Project.

The Aliveness Project executive director Matt Toburen told MPR News host Cathy Wurzer that ahead of the first of the month, there were 60 people who needed help paying rent and another 30 who had eviction notices.

"We've been just working overtime with these various government funders to find the mechanisms by which we could do that, and thankfully, we were able to get those checks out," said Toburen.

Council member Andrea Jenkins said the transfer of federal funding to the Aliveness Project will help former Rainbow Health clients stay on their feet.

"I'm deeply saddened by the loss of Rainbow Health in our community, but I'm really proud of my friends at the Aliveness Project, just proud of them for stepping up," Jenkins said.

The funding covers housing assistance for dozens of clients. The Aliveness Project staff said the transfer will help preserve clients' access to that money.

The Minnesota Department of Health reports that Hennepin and Ramsey counties, along with the Duluth area are currently experiencing an HIV outbreak.

"Minnesota is falling farther and farther behind, and the loss of these important community organizations is just compounding that," said Toburen.

Man, 60, Declared 'free' Of HIV After Revolutionary Cancer Treatment – Making Him The 7th Person To Be 'cured'

A SEVENTH person has been "cured" of HIV after revolutionary stem cell treatment, it is hoped.

The man, 60, who also had acute myeloid leukaemia when he had the procedure to replace his bone marrow in October 2015, is now thought to be free of both diseases.

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Seven people are thought to be free of HIV after undergoing revolutionary treatmentCredit: Getty

"A healthy person has many wishes, a sick person only one," he said.

The patient, from Germany, who wishes to remain anonymous, has been dubbed "the next Berlin patient".

The original Berlin patient, Timothy Ray Brown, was the first person to be declared "cured" of HIV in 2008. He died from cancer in 2020.

The second man's long-term HIV remission was announced ahead of the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich next week.

He was first diagnosed with HIV in 2009, according to the research abstract being presented at the event.

The man received a bone marrow transplant for his leukaemia - a type of blood cancer that affects blood cells in your bone marrow - in 2015.

The procedure, which has a 10 per cent risk of death, essentially replaces a person's immune system.

He then stopped taking antiretroviral drugs - which reduce the amount of HIV in the blood - in late 2018.

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Nearly six years later, he appears to be both HIV and cancer free, the medical researchers said.

Christian Gaebler, from Berlin's Charite University Hospital, where the man was being treated, said that the team cannot be "absolutely certain" every last trace of HIV has been eradicated.

Man 'cured' of HIV and cancer in astonishing medical recovery after 'groundbreaking' stem cell transplant

But "the patient's case is highly suggestive of an HIV cure," Gaebler added.

"He feels well and is enthusiastic about contributing to our research efforts."

International AIDS Society president Sharon Lewin said researchers hesitate to use the word "cure" because it is not clear how long they need to follow up such cases.

But more than five years in remission means the man "would be close" to being considered cured, she told a press conference.

There is an important difference between the man's case and the six other HIV patients who have reached long-term remission, she said.

The longer we see these HIV remissions without any HIV therapy, the more confidence we can get that we're probably seeing a case where we really have eradicated all competent HIV

Dr Christian Gaebler

All but one received stem cells from donors with a rare mutation in which part of their CCR5 gene was missing, blocking HIV from entering their body's cells.

Those donors had inherited two copies of the mutated CCR5 gene - one from each parent - making them "essentially immune" to HIV, Ms Lewin said.

But the new Berlin patient is the first to have received stem cells from a donor who had inherited only one copy of the mutated gene.

Around 15 per cent of people from European origin have one mutated copy, compared to one per cent for both.

HUGE PROMISE

Researchers hope the latest success means there will be a much larger potential donor pool in the future.

The new case is also "promising" for the wider search for an HIV cure that works for all patients, Ms Lewin said.

"This is because it suggests that you don't actually have to get rid of every single piece of CCR5 for gene therapy to work," she added.

The Geneva patient, whose case was announced at last year's AIDS conference, is the other exception among the seven.

He received a transplant from a donor without any CCR5 mutations, yet still achieved long-term remission.

This showed that the effectiveness of the procedure was not just down to the CCR5 gene, Ms Lewin said.

The 7 'cured' of HIV

Timothy Ray Brown, also known as 'the Berlin patient', who had leukaemia and underwent two stem cell transplants in 2007 and 2008.

Adam Castillejo, sometimes called 'the London patient', who received a bone marrow transplant for his lymphoma in 2016.

Marc Franke, or 'the Dusseldorf patient', who had a stem cell transplant in 2013 to treat his leukaemia.

Paul Edmonds, also known as 'the City of Hope patient', who had a stem cell transplant in 2019.

'The New York patient', the first woman, who received a stem cell transplant in 2017 to treat leukaemia.

A man dubbed 'the Geneva patient' with blood cancer, who underwent a stem cell transplant in 2018.

'The second Berlin patient', who had acute myeloid leukaemia when he had the procedure to replace his bone marrow in October 2015.

HIV is a virus that damages the cells in your immune system and weakens your ability to fight everyday infections and disease.

An estimated 106,890 people are living with the condition in the UK.

In most cases, it spreads through unprotected sexual contact with an infected person.

Most people will experience flu-like symptoms two to six weeks after being infected.

This tends to include a sore throat, fever and a rash all over the body, which lasts one to two weeks.

After this, HIV may not cause any symptoms at all, but the virus continues to damage your immune system.

Some people go on to experience weight loss, night sweats, thrush in the mouth, an increase in herpes or cold sore outbreaks, swollen glands in the groin, neck or armpit, long-lasting diarrhoea, and tiredness.

While there is no cure for HIV, there are very effective treatments that enable most people with the virus to live long and healthy lives.

Medication now reduces the amount of the virus in the body to the point of being undetectable, meaning it cannot be transmitted.

Dr Gaebler said: "The longer we see these HIV remissions without any HIV therapy, the more confidence we can get that we're probably seeing a case where we really have eradicated all competent HIV."

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Timothy Ray Brown, also known as 'the Berlin patient', was the first to be 'cured' of HIVCredit: AP:Associated Press

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Paul Edmonds (right) who is considered 'cured' of HIV, with Dr Ahmed AribiCredit: cityofhope

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'The London patient' who later identified himself as Adam CastillejoCredit: adam castillejo

What is a stem cell transplant?

A stem cell or bone marrow transplant replaces damaged blood cells with healthy ones.

It can be used to treat conditions affecting the blood cells, such as leukaemia and lymphoma.

There are five main stages:

Tests and examinations to assess your general level of health

Harvesting to collect stem cells to be used in the transplant (this can be from you or your donor)

Conditioning (treatment with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy to prepare your body for the transplant)

Transplanting the cells

Recovery (patients usually stay in hospital for several weeks)

There are risks involved, including graft versus host disease, when transplanted cells start to attack the other cells in your body.

But stem cell transplants also transform the lives of many.

Source: NHS

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