The Western Health Board is urging parents who have not yet vaccinated their children against measles, mumps and rubella to do so, following the outbreak of a cluster of measles in the east Galway area.
Dr Declan McKeown, director of public health with the Western Health Board (WHB), said parents who had not taken up the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine for their children should reconsider, given the health risks associated with contracting any of the viruses.
Dr McKeown confirmed that 10 clinical cases of measles within an extended family were being treated in the eastern part of Co Galway.
Two of the 10 were currently in hospital, and were being treated for dehydration. Their condition was not serious, he said.
The WHB has notified general practitioners to be aware of a possible diagnosis of measles. Characteristic symptoms in the early stages include fever, sore throat and runny nose, developing into a cough and pre-inflamed red-looking eyes. This can be followed by a measles rash.
"The problem is that when they reach that stage, they have passed beyond their infection stage. It means they may have passed the bug on to other people," he said.
Latest uptake rates in the WHB area for the MMR are running at 70 per cent, reflecting the national average. Referring to fears over the supposed link between MMR and autism, Dr McKeown said this had not been substantiated and the weight of evidence was in favour of the safety of the vaccine.
The WHB area of Galway, Mayo and Roscommon recorded a peak of measles cases in 2000, similar to a national trend, at a time when there was a sharp decrease in MMR vaccine uptake.
