A child infected with the highly contagious measles virus arrived in Melbourne on a flight from Indonesia last weekend, authorities warn.
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The three-year-old unvaccinated child arrived on Garuda Indonesia flight GA 716, from Jakarta, which landed at Tullamarine on Saturday, May 13 at 9.20am.
The child, who had contracted measles while overseas, was admitted to hospital on Saturday, May 20 and is recovering, a Health Department spokesman said.
The Department is warning other passengers from the flight to remain alert to the signs and symptoms of measles, which can have an incubation period of up to 18 days.
The latest case comes after an employee of Big W at Werribee Plaza was thought to have brought the virus home from a visit to Bali in March.
In January, two Melbourne teenagers were thought to have contracted the measles in Malaysia.
Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Brett Sutton said the illness usually begins with common cold symptoms such as runny nose, red eyes and a cough, followed by fever and rash.
"The characteristic measles rash usually begins 3-7 days after the first symptoms, generally starting on the face and then spreading to the rest of the body," he said.
"Anyone developing symptoms is advised to ring ahead to their GP or hospital first and tell them that they have fever and a rash.
"If you know you have been in contact with a measles case please alert your GP or hospital emergency department."
