An outbreak of measles in the Waikato has prompted a warning from health officials in the Bay, despite only one confirmed case in the region in recent months.

The outbreak saw students quarantined to prevent any further spread.

There has only been one confirmed case of measles in the Bay in recent months. Photo: File.

Bay of Plenty Medical Officer of Health Dr Phil Shoemack says the Bay has only had one case of late in a young child whose family had returned from Vanuatu when Cyclone Pam hit in March.

'Unfortunately, he developed measles when he got back,” explains Phil. 'That was just before Easter because I remember over Easter he had contact with a number of individuals we had to put in quarantine.

'Fortunately, none of them progressed to having it. Touch wood at this stage that we have no contacts with those affected in the Waikato.”

Phil advises people to make sure their children are immunised with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to prevent any possible outbreak in the Bay of Plenty.

The routine New Zealand schedule includes the vaccine at the age of 15 months and at four-years-old.

'When any case of measles is confirmed, it has to be notified to Toi Te Ora Public Health and then we organise what we call contact tracing,” he adds.

'It looks to the individuals who have not been vaccinated, who might have had close contact with the measles case, and we give them appropriate advice.

'On occasion, we will put them in voluntary quarantine in their homes to make sure they don't have contact with others in case they develop it.”

If your child is suffering from a fever, vomiting and a rash, then its best for parents to phone their doctor instead of turning up to a clinic.

'We don't expect a parent to diagnose an illness in their child,” says Phil, 'but if they have a fever, vomiting, and have developed a rash, then phone your doctor and discuss it with them.

'Depending on how the discussion goes, then make an appointment to see the doctor.

'The important thing is to make the initial contact over the phone. Don't just turn up with a child with a rash because they might have measles and we don't want them to infect other people in the waiting room.”