The health authorities in north Dublin have told doctors to bring vaccination dates forward following an outbreak of measles in the area.
Doctors in an area stretching from the Liffey north to Balbriggan and the Meath-Dublin border have been asked by the Northern Area Health Board of the Eastern Regional Health Authority to give the vaccine three months earlier than normal. Infants will now be vaccinated at 12 months, rather than 15.
There have been 212 cases of measles notified to the ERHA this year, most north of the Liffey. There were 108 cases notified to the former Eastern Health Board last year.
In addition to bringing the dates forward, public health doctors in the area will be targeting schools where a child has already developed measles. By vaccinating all the other children attending the same school, the board is hoping to stamp out the infection at source.