4761 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health

Written Question

Published date: 16 Apr 2024

Metadata

Document type:	Written Question
Parliament number:	54
Question number:	4761 (2024)
Question asked:	02 Apr 2024
Member asking:	Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall
Portfolio:	Minister of Health
Minister replying:	Hon Dr Shane Reti
Answer received:	10 Apr 2024
Status:	Question Answered
Reply type:	Reply
Document ID:	WQ_04761_2024
Document guid:	620ce960-ea77-44ca-a199-ce399885f542

4761 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health: On what basis was comment provided to media that a measles case had been confirmed, and another probable case identified on 31 March 2024?

Hon Dr Shane Reti: I am advised any suspected case of measles is taken very seriously by Health New Zealand to prevent widespread outbreak, including notifying people in the local community of their potential increase in risk. Measles is a serious and highly contagious illness. The positive sample was sent for genotyping testing, which revealed that the positive test result was due to a vaccine strain. Until genotyping results are available, anyone with a positive PCR result for measles is managed as a measles case.