Migrant worker returns to Macau with measles

Macau has confirmed a case of measles involving a 33-year-old Filipina migrant worker who recently returned from a home visit at a time when an outbreak of measles is affecting the Philippines.

The domestic worker, said to be working at the casino and resort The City of Dreams in Cotai, had shown fever, cough and sore throat symptoms on the morning of February 3, according to a release from the health bureau.

The worker reportedly visited a health clinic that afternoon, and later developed a rash which started on her face and spread to the rest of her body in the evening.

The worker, who had never been vaccinated against measles, visited Conde S. Januário Hospital the next day and tested positive for measles.  She remains in hospital in a stable condition.

It was understood that the worker went to the Philippines between January 19 to 25 to visit her family, and did not attend work during the two days before the onset of symptoms.

After reviewing her travel history, the health bureau classed her case as one of an imported infection.

No symptoms were found among her friends and housemates in Macau, though the health officials are monitoring their conditions.

An outbreak of measles is spreading across the Philippines with more than 1,500 cases of the disease and 26 deaths reported in recent weeks, CNN reported.

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