MELBOURNE, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities in the Australian state of Victoria have issued a warning over an increased risk of measles.
A health alert issued on Sunday night by the Victorian Department of Health said that there is an increased risk of measles in the state, especially in metropolitan Melbourne.
It said that local transmission of measles has occurred in Melbourne among people with no recent overseas travel or known public exposure to the highly infectious disease.
Victoria's Acting Chief Health Officer, Christian McGrath, has urged anyone who attended a known measles exposure site to monitor for symptoms for 18 days and seek medical care if symptoms develop.
The Department of Health's list of known exposure sites includes the Melbourne Airport, recent flights from Sydney, Dubai and Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne and several hospitals and medical centers.
According to the most recent data from the Australian Center for Disease Control, there have been 12 confirmed cases of measles in Victoria so far in 2026, compared to 36 cases through the entirety of 2025 and 17 cases in 2024.
The Victorian Department of Health said that measles vaccination coverage in Australia is below the 95 percent national target and that the majority of recent cases in the state have occurred in people who were not fully vaccinated. ■