Measles Outbreak: Health Alert Issued for Sydney with 11 Cases

January 21, 2026 — 10:33am You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Health authorities are warning Sydneysiders to be alert for signs of measles, with 11 cases diagnosed in just three weeks and an increased risk declared for NSW. The latest two cases of the highly contagious disease were confirmed in Sydney on Wednesday, after these unknowingly infectious people visited Nepean and Concord hospitals’ emergency departments. People who visited the Priceline Pharmacy at St Clair have also been advised to monitor for symptoms. “As people return from overseas holidays, it is expected that additional cases may be identified,” NSW Health warned. Measles outbreaks have been reported in some of Australia’s closest neighbours, including Bali, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Malaysia as well as Pakistan and India. People most at risk of severe complications from measles are children under five years old who have not been vaccinated, adults who missed their vaccinations, pregnant women and immunocompromised people. Advertisement Health Protection NSW executive director Dr Christine Selvey said people should monitor for symptoms of measles and check the list of locations on the NSW Health website to see if they visited at the listed time. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sore eyes and a cough, usually followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash that spreads from the head to the rest of the body. “If symptoms develop, and you’ve been at one of the locations at the time listed on the website, see your doctor or health service, including an emergency department,” Selvey said. She advised people to call ahead and tell their medical centres that they may have come into contact with measles, so they don’t spend time in waiting rooms with other patients. Advertisement Measles is spread through the air when someone who is infectious coughs or sneezes. People can start spreading the disease one day before their symptoms start. If a person with measles is coughing and sneezing in a room occupied by 10 other people susceptible to measles, nine of them will develop the infection, NSW Health said. The virus can also stay in the air for around 15 minutes. Up to one third of people with measles will have serious complications, including middle-ear infection, diarrhoea and pneumonia. One in 1000 cases will develop encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and one in 100,000 will develop a fatal chronic, progressive brain inflammation called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. Most cases in NSW involve people returning or visiting from a country experiencing an outbreak or where the virus in endemic. “We want to remind the community to make sure they are up-to-date with their vaccinations,” Selvey said. Advertisement The measles vaccine can prevent the disease even after exposure, if given early. Two doses of a measles vaccine provide lifelong protection in 99 of 100 people. New locations exposed and how long to monitor symptoms Nepean Hospital Emergency Department on Saturday, January 17 between 12am and 7.40pm (monitor for symptoms until Wednesday, February 4) and Friday, January 16 between 7.50pm and 11.59pm (monitor symptoms until Tuesday, February 3) Priceline Pharmacy St Clair on Wednesday, January 14 between 3pm and 4pm (monitor symptoms until Sunday, February 1) Concord Repatriation Hospital Emergency Department on Saturday, January 3 between 1pm and 4.10pm (monitor symptoms until Wednesday, January 21) There is no ongoing risk of measles at the listed locations, NSW Health said. Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. More: Health Healthcare Illness Vaccination Kate Aubusson is Health Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. Connect via Twitter or email.