Australia’s "measles free" status under pressure
State governments are taking Australia’s “measles free” status seriously. It is now up to travellers to do the same.
In South Australia, measles vaccine will be provided free to overseas travellers who have a birth date after 1966 if they can’t find evidence of 2 previous doses of the vaccine or have negative serology. It will also be available to children aged between 6 and 12 months who are travelling overseas. Measles can be severe if contracted under 12 months.
The program starts July 1, 2025.
This policy is in line with most of the other states and hopes to reduce the number of travellers returning with measles. For information on other State programs, see below.
Increasing case numbers and historical context
Seventy cases of measles have been reported in 2025 year to date (to 27 April 2025), with more than 90 over the past 12 months. This is considerably higher than the annual average of the 5 previous years. It reflects a deteriorating global picture and is very concerning for public health authorities around Australia.
I undertook a great deal of basic travel in the late 1960’s and 1970’s. Measles was not a concern to me as I contracted the disease as a child, and was fortunate to have had no major health issues. It was certainly a global health concern at the time with more than 600,000 deaths annually.
Recent global example highlights ongoing risk
A recent confirmed case of measles at Denver International Airport in the United States (May 2025) has led to a major public health alert, with officials tracking possible exposures across flights, hotels and airports. This incident highlights how contagious measles remains and the importance of ensuring adequate protection - especially for travellers moving through busy transport hubs.
Measles vaccination in Australia
The live attenuated measles vaccine was first registered in Australia in 1968. It was recommended for children aged 12 to 23 months and given as a single dose vaccination with no booster dose advised. This was not unreasonable given that measles was circulating in the population, and the disease might have served as a booster dose. Any illness would have gone unnoticed at the time.
Measles – mumps was recommended for use in 1982 and later in 1989 was replaced by measles-mumps-rubella (MMR). As more and more of the population became immune, transmission reduced and in 1992 a second dose of the MMR vaccine was recommended for all children. The rubella vaccination program for females was replaced by a school-based MMR program for all children aged between 10 and 14 years. All these individuals would have had birth dates in the late 1970’s.
Maternal immunity and infants
It is also important to be aware that prior to the start of measles immunisations, most women would have experienced a bout of the wild disease and hence have a higher antibody response. Children born to these women would have had higher antibody protection during the first year of life, perhaps lasting for up to 8 months. This is not the case for children born to women who have vaccine induced immunity. It is highly unlikely that this immunity affords much protection beyond 3-4 months. This has been investigated in recent years. See Measles surveillance in Europe.
This might not be an issue if measles transmission was controlled and the country declared free of measles (Australia in 2014) but a major concern if vaccination rates drop and local transmission resumes. This is now a major concern for many countries.
It is the reason why travel medicine providers have been giving an early dose of the vaccine to travelling children aged between 6 and 12 months for over 30 years. It really depended on the age of the mother and how she gained her measles immunity. This has not been well understood in the community.
A message for travellers
It is important that all overseas travellers be aware of the historical aspects of measles vaccination in Australia and why we have been targeting those who have birthdates between 1966 and 1980 and those who have never been vaccinated.
As public health providers we often fail to sell the message well.
