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Protect your family from measles
Measles is a serious illness – getting immunised can help keep you, your family and your community safe. Read more
Measles focus of new publications
News article
09 August 2012
The impact of a recent measles outbreak on children with cancer was highlighted at a launch of two Ministry of Health publications at Starship Hospital.
Children with cancer have little or no immunity to measles and an outbreak can severely restrict the way children and their families go about their daily lives. Protecting Children with Cancer from Measles includes interviews with parents of children with cancer and teenager Leroy Beckett, who talks about the effect of the measles outbreak on their lives. Paediatric oncologists Scott Macfarlane from Starship Hospital and Rob Corbett from Christchurch Hospital also share their experiences of the disease.
Measles can also make previously healthy children very unwell and carries a high risk of complications. Immunisation – Making a Choice for Your Child features stories about young people who had measles during the 2011 outbreaks. It also includes interviews with Medical Officers of Health Richard Hoskins from Auckland and Ramon Pink from Christchurch. All of the young people interviewed became seriously unwell with measles, with Victoria University student Felicity Lyme describing it as ‘like having food poisoning and every other illness she had experienced rolled into one’.
Page last updated: 09 August 2012
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