Four cases in Upper Austria – a whole family has contracted measles

Now it has also been medically confirmed that an entire family in Upper Austria has contracted measles. After it was announced on Friday that an eleven-year-old was being treated for the highly contagious disease at Kepler University Hospital, it has been clear since Saturday that three other family members are also infected. However, they are in home care. Authorities could not or would not say where the family came from and where they became infected. However, according to information from the “Krone”, the family has only recently been on vacation and is generally against vaccinations.

34 cases across Austria
Since the beginning of the year, measles cases have also been confirmed by the health authorities in Styria, Carinthia and Vienna. With the three other confirmed cases in Upper Austria, the number of cases in Austria has risen to 37 so far this year.

In comparison, only one case of measles was reported in the whole of Austria in 2022. In 2019, there were as many as 151 cases. To minimize the risk of measles infection, Wolfgang Högler, head of the clinic for pediatrics and youth medicine at the KUK, strongly recommends that unvaccinated people be vaccinated. “If the number of unvaccinated people in the population increases, there is a risk of epidemics, because measles is many times more contagious than flu or coronaviruses.” What many do not know: people over the age of 15 can also be vaccinated for free in Upper Austria and protect yourself.