Mumps
From
the Chair outbreak
Sally Webb - Chair, Bay of Plenty District Health Board
This edition of Health Matters highlights
some of the exciting initiatives happening
across Bay of Plenty District Health Board
(BOPDHB) that are strengthening your
health services. One in particular I encourage
you to r ead highlights the success of the
BOPDHB as a teaching and research facility
for the University of Auckland’s Faculty of
Medical and Health Sciences. This success
has resulted in our DHB being officially
recognised as a Clinical Campus. This gives
us the opportunity to have more students
coming here to train which gives them the
chance to find out what a great place it is to
work and live. And it also keeps us ‘front
of mind’ when students graduate and are
considering where they’d like to work. The
Clinical Campus status helps us to recruit
and retain high quality staff which means
we continue providing you with high quality
health services.
This month we also have two articles on
immunisation that I encourage you to reflect
on. Whooping cough and mumps are both still
prevalent in New Zealand. Immunisation is
your best protection. Have you checked your
immunisation records and that of your family?
Contact your health centre for details.
March marks the end of summer and it won’t
be that long before winter is here. Every year
we have the influenza vaccination programme
to avoid you getting unnecessarily sick. So
now is the time to be thinking about getting
your “flu” shot. By being immunised, you not
only protect yourself, but you help to ensure
you don’t pass on influenza to your families,
friends and colleagues. Flu immunisation is
free for people who are most likely to get very
sick, including those 65 +, pregnant women,
children under the age of 4 who’ve been in
hospital with breathing problems and people
who are under the age of 65 with diabetes,
heart or lung health issues. Don’t wait till it is
too late - talk to your doctor to find out more
this week. We want you to stay well.
He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!
What is the most important thing in the
world?
It is people! It is people! It is people!
Arohanui
Sally Webb
protect you and your family with immunisation
New Zealand is experiencing a mumps
outbreak. Although the outbreak is focused
on Auckland, most parts of the country
have been affected. In the last month 17
mumps cases in the Bay of Plenty and Lakes
districts have been notified to the local
Medical Officer of Health.
“Immunisation with the MMR vaccine is the
best protection against Mumps – and it also
protects against Measles and Rubella,” says Dr
Phil Shoemack, Medical Officer of Health.
MMR is recommended and free for anyone
born since 1 January 1969 and is routinely
given to children at 15 months and 4 years of
age.
“We strongly recommend that everyone checks
whether they have received two doses of
MMR vaccine. If you’re not up to date, please
visit your family doctor to get immunised.
MMR is free for anyone who needs it,” says
Dr Shoemack.
doctor to check.
Mumps is very infectious and spreads from
person to person by coughing and sneezing,
or through contact with infected saliva, such
as by sharing food and drink. Symptoms of
mumps infection include fever, headache
and swelling over the cheek or jaw area on
one or both sides of the face. Symptoms
usually appear 2 to 3 weeks after contact with
someone who is infectious. It is usually a mild
illness that lasts about one week, but it can
have serious complications. If you think you
have symptoms of mumps please stay at home
and phone your family doctor, or Healthline on
0800 611 116, for advice.
For more information about mumps visit www.
toiteora.govt.nz/mumps
Teenagers and young adults aged 12 to 29 are
at greatest risk of catching mumps because,
due to changes in our national immunisation
schedule, they may not have been fully
immunised as children. If you’re not sure
whether you or your family are up to date with
immunisations, contact your family
Immunise your family to protect against
whooping cough
With the current national whooping cough epidemic,
it’s important to check that you and your family are
up-to-date with your immunisations, especially if
you’re pregnant or have a baby.
Since November 2017, across the Bay of Plenty and Lakes
districts, there have been 255 cases of whooping cough
notified to the local Medical Officer of Health.
Whooping cough (also called pertussis) can be a serious
disease. It is caused by a bacterium that is easily spread by
coughing and sneezing.
“Symptoms usually start with a runny nose and dry cough.
The coughing gets worse and is followed, particularly in
babies, by difficulty breathing (referred to as ‘whooping’),
and sometimes vomiting,” says Dr Phil Shoemack,
Medical Officer of Health.
Babies under one year old are most at risk of serious
complications from whooping cough. They are often
unable to feed or breathe properly so become very ill
and may need to be admitted to hospital. “The illness is
usually milder in adults many of whom don’t realise they
have whooping cough. Adults are often responsible for
spreading the illness and anyone with a cough should,
if possible, avoid contact with young babies,” says Dr
Shoemack.
On-time immunisation is the best way to help protect
babies, children, pregnant women and adults from
whooping cough. Protection for babies begins in
pregnancy with free immunisation for pregnant women
between 28 and 38 weeks of pregnancy.
“By getting immunised each
pregnancy, you pass on your
immunity to your baby.
This helps protect them
from birth until their
Help stop the spread
first immunisation at
of whooping cough
6 weeks old,” says
• Make sure all your children are up to
date with their immunisations.
Dr Shoemack.
• Keep your baby away from
anyone with a cough.
“It is really
•
If
you
have a cough yourself,
important that
stay away from babies.
babies get their
• If you’ve got a cough that won’t
go away, see your doctor.
first immunisation
on time at 6 weeks. If
immunisation is delayed
your baby is more at risk
of catching whooping cough
from others,” says Dr Shoemack. After the 6
week immunisation, further free childhood
immunisations are required for ongoing
protection.
Contact your family doctor to check whether you,
your baby and other family members are up to date
with whooping cough and other immunisations and
make an appointment if needed.
For more information visit
www.toiteora.govt.nz/whooping_cough