The threat of a measles epidemic has not yet abated, the National Disease Surveillance Centre has warned.
A possible epidemic was predicted earlier this month when 10 cases were reported in one week in the Eastern Regional Health Authority area.
Up to last Thursday, 222 cases of measles had been reported to the NDSC from all over the State.This compares with 241 cases for all of 2001.
Dr Joan O'Donnell, public health specialist with the NDSC, said the uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine remained worryingly low and was being closely monitored.
She urged parents to vaccinate their children against the illness. Three children died after contracting measles in 2000.
Measles can give rise to pneumonia, brain damage, deafness and a degenerative disease of the central nervous system.
Some parents have expressed concern about reported links between the MMR vaccine and autism but the NDSC has repeated its assurances that the vaccine is safe.
The number of children being vaccinated appears to be gradually increasing, according to preliminary figures.
The east of the State only achieved a 60 per cent vaccination rate in the first quarter of this year but early figures show a 3 per cent increase between April and June.
The State's vaccination rate was 70 per cent in the first three months of the year and this, too, is thought to have risen by about 2 per cent between April and June.
However, the World Health Organisation believes a rate of 95 per cent is necessary to protect the whole community.
Meanwhile, the NDSC has not yet received any reports of the influenza virus being detected in the winter season.
A group of GPs around the State monitor flu-like illnesses and send swabs to the National Virus Reference Laboratory in UCD every week for analysis.
Reports of flu outbreaks usually increase after Christmas, said the NDSC. This may be partly explained by the large population movement during the holiday season. Flu activity was "very mild" last year compared with previous years.
