00:00Most parents of young children these days haven't had measles in their lifetime and
00:07so that means their antibody levels are much lower than older Australians who grew up when
00:11measles was much more widespread.
00:14So what we're seeing is pregnant women have much lower antibody levels at the moment and
00:19therefore they're transferring fewer on to their babies.
00:24So previously maternal antibodies were thought to protect children for around 9 to 12 months.
00:29Now they're barely hanging around for 3 months.
00:33So that's quite a drop off.
00:35It's also worth noting that a lot of countries already vaccinate earlier than Australia.
00:39Our first dose is recommended at 12 months but most other countries have a 9 month first
00:45dose recommendation.
00:46And how many cases of measles do we currently have in Australia, Paige?
00:52Yes, so we've got 77 this year so far and that's an increase on last year where we
00:59saw 55 for the whole of 2024.
01:03Most cases at this time are in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.
01:09And this surge in cases is alarming because our childhood vaccination rates are declining.
01:17At the moment 92% of two year olds are fully vaccinated for measles.
01:21We need 95% coverage to maintain herd immunity.
01:27So to put this into perspective, measles was declared to be eliminated in Australia 10 years
01:32ago.
01:33So right now most cases are coming through from international travel.
01:38And although today we're talking about the possibility of a four month dose, a lot of people don't know
01:44that you can already get your baby vaccinated at six months if you are going overseas.
01:49So that is definitely worth remembering.
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