Staff and students at Dún Laoghaire College of Art, Design and Technology have been warned about possible exposure to measles after an individual who had contracted the virus visited the campus last week.
The Health Service Executive (HSE) wrote to students and staff on Thursday warning people to be vigilant of the symptoms.
The individual with measles visited the college on March 27th and 28th, the HSE said.
The notice comes a day after the HSE issued an “urgent public health alert” about a suspected measles case on the Dublin Connolly to Sligo train last Friday.
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Members of the public may have been exposed to measles while travelling for 15 minutes or more in carriage D of the service, which departed Dublin at 5.05pm on March 28th, the HSE said.
[ ‘Measles is back’: Cases double in Europe, hitting highest rate in decadesOpens in new window ]
Cases of measles doubled last year in the European region, climbing to the highest level in nearly three decades, after the Covid-19 pandemic caused delays in routine vaccination, the World Health Organisation said last month.
In Ireland, 208 cases were reported last year, up from just four in 2023.
Separate data shows the uptake of childhood vaccines in Ireland dropped 6 per cent from 91.5 per cent to 85.5 per cent between 2019 and 2021.
Across Europe, more than 50,000 cases of measles – which can lead to complications such as pneumonia, brain swelling and blindness – involved children under the age of five.
About 60 per cent of people who became ill required hospitalisation.
Health officials linked the soaring number of cases to the fact that in many countries vaccination rates had yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Signs and symptoms of measles include cold-like symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing and a cough.
Other symptoms include sore red eyes, a temperature of 38 degrees or above, and a rash, which usually appears on the head and neck first before spreading to the rest of the body.
