Source : Perth Now news
South Australian health officials have set up an emergency vaccination hub at a high school after four students tested positive to measles, sparking outbreak fears.
Public health bosses in South Australia set up the hub at Brighton Secondary School in Friday afternoon, amid fears of a wider outbreak of the rare disease.
While not rare worldwide, Australia ordinarily only sees between 100 and 200 cases of the highly infectious disease each year.
However, with four cases now confirmed in the southern suburb school, health leaders have been put on alert.
Nicola Spurrier, the state’s chief public health officer, said it was unusual to see this number of cases at one time – which were linked to a teenager who tested positive after returning from overseas on September 14.
“My team and I are very concerned about this outbreak – we don’t normally see such amount of spread,” she said.
“It is one of the most infectious communicable diseases that we know about and in an unvaccinated population, one case on average spreads to 14 other people.
“We’re not sure if there are other cases brewing in the school.”
As well as setting up the hub, bosses have raised the alarm about the students’ movements in recent weeks, urging people to seek immunisation if they may have unknowingly come into contact with them.
The potential exposure sites are:
• Kmart Westfield Marion – visited between 3.15pm and 7pm on Monday September 21 and between 1.30pm and 6pm on Friday, September 18
• Morphett Vale Stadium – visited between 2.40pm and 5pm on Saturday, September 19
• Brighton Secondary School – visited on Friday, September 18 from 9am until 3pm
• El Mexicano Restaurant, Hyde Park – visited between 6.30m and 9pm on Thursday, September 17
• St Louis cafe, King William Road – visited between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Thursday, September 17
• Costco Adelaide, Kilburn – visited between 1.30pm and 3.15pm on Thursday, September 17
• Costco petrol station, Kilburn – visited between 2.45pm and 3.35pm on Thursday, September 17
While once extremely common, successful vaccination programs have all but eradicated the disease in Australia.
Annual case rates very rarely eclipse 200 cases, although there has been more than 110 reported thus far in 2026.
Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose and sore eyes, which are followed by a blotchy rash which usually starts on the head then spreads to lower parts of the body.
