DUBLIN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- A measles outbreak has been reported in parts of the Irish capital Dublin, with 13 cases of the disease having been identified since July, said health authorities on Wednesday.
All the measles cases were reported in the northern part of the city, said the Health Service Executive (HSE), a state agency responsible for the public health services in Ireland.
Patients infected with the disease include both children and adults. The first two cases were found in a child and an adult at the beginning of last month, said the HSE in a statement.
Transmission of the disease have occurred in hospitals and in households with poor vaccine uptake, it said, adding that the Department of Public Health of the HSE has started monitoring the development of the disease in a wider community in the northern part of the city.
Meanwhile, the HSE has sent information on measles to all emergency departments and general practitioners in Dublin and its neighbouring counties of Kildare and Wicklow to inform them of the measles outbreak.
Ruth McDermott, an official with the HSE's public health department, said that "Measles can be a serious illness and is highly infectious. The best protection is to be fully vaccinated with two doses of MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine."
The HSE has issued notices shortly after the discovery of the first two measles cases in the city, warning the public aged under 40 of taking the measles vaccine if they have not been appropriately vaccinated before or have not had the disease in the past.
It has also advised the public of taking the measles vaccine before travelling to other countries and regions where measles outbreaks are reported.
