The incidence of measles among children is reaching a point where a death may be expected, the Director of the National Disease Surveillance Centre.
Dr Darina O'Flanagan, urging parents to have their children administered with the combined MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine, said there had been a three-fold increase in measles on this time last year.
"Up to the end of last week, there have been 567 cases of measles, compared with the 185 for the same period last year. That's mainly among children under the age of nine. None has died, but we are at the figure where a death could potentially happen. There is just so much measles in circulation."
Though a fatality is expected in about one in 1,000 cases, Dr O'Flanagan pointed out there were three child deaths in the 2000 epidemic in Dublin, which involved about 1,500 cases of measles.
"So the fatality rate increased then, to about one in 500. And we're at that figure now," she said.
Regarding children with immunity problems, who are at greater risk of an adverse reaction, Dr O'Flanagan said those children are well known by their GPs and hospital before MMR is an issue, at about 15 -months-old.
Irish uptake of MMR is one of the lowest in Europe at 77 per cent. Though increasing slightly, it is still well short of the World Health Organisation target of 95 per cent uptake to ensure protection for all.
Dr O'Flanagan's warning comes as one of the specialists involved in the original research that raised fears of a possible link between the combined vaccine and autism advised that children should have the vaccination.
Dr Simon Murch, who was on the team working with Dr Andrew Wakefield, whose 1998 findings first suggested a link, has written in the most recent edition of the Lancet that MMR immunisation, "which should be an easy decision, has become a worrying issue for many British parents".
A specialist in paediatric gastroenterology at the Royal Free Hospital in London, Dr Murch said parents put their children at greater risk not having their children vaccinated.
"There is now unequivocal evidence that MMR is not a risk factor for autism. This statement is not spin or medical conspiracy, but reflects an unprecedented volume of medical study on a worldwide basis," he said.
