Measles
New Zealand health officials fear an outbreak of measles in a small community in the Far North has made its way to Wellington.
So far 30 cases of measles have been discovered in one large extended family in the Hokianga, who did not believe in vaccination.
Northland medical officer of health Jonathan Jarman said he had only learnt of the outbreak in recent days. He would not say which isolated town the family lived in.
"It appears that they have been having people catching the disease and spreading it to other people within their close knit community," he told Radio New Zealand.
There were about 50 unvaccinated children within the community, he said.
Measles is a notifiable disease when patients visit a doctor, but the people involved had been managing the disease at home, Jarman said.
The disease is preventable by vaccines and unvaccinated children were most at risk from harm, he said. "One of our key messages [to parents] is to check on the vaccination status of their children."
