Science Media Centre

Health officials are appealing for parents to immunise their children in the midst of a mumps outbreak in Auckland. More than 130 cases of the viral disease have been notified in Auckland this year to date, compared to 35 for the same period last year. The Auckland Regional Public Health Service (APRHS) has said 80 […]

The immense polarisation of opinions on immunisation has been highlighted through the response to Dr Lance O’Sullivan’s protest of an anti-vaccination documentary, GP Dr Cathy Stephenson writes on stuff.co.nz. An excerpt (read in full): There are people in both camps whose views won’t be shifted – that’s fine by me. We live in a world […]

Should New Zealand follow the Australian ‘no jab, no pay’ model to boost immunisation rates? Nikki Turner from the Immunisation Advisory Centre says no, our current approach is working. An excerpt (read in full): By being systematic, setting national targets and communicating effectively to healthcare providers and parents, we have seen a dramatic improvement in […]

Increasing cases of measles, particularly in Auckland, have health officials worried. The discovery of two measles infected passengers on a recent flight from Brisbane to Auckland has added to health authorities concern over the growing number of cases. The Auckland Regional Public Health Service confirmed the cases yesterday, with that the total number of measles […]

Prestigious medical journal The Lancet has formally retracted the paper in which Andrew Wakefield, the doctor behind claims that the MMR vaccine can be linked to autism, first claimed such effects. The MMR, or measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, came under scrutiny in the late 1990s when Andrew Wakefield, a British doctor, wrote a paper […]

More funding for immunisation in New Zealand could have a significant effect, possibly eliminating measles and substantially reducing the incidence of other diseases, says a local expert. Dr Nikki Turner, director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre at Auckland University, says the government subsidies need to be heightened to ensure that medical practices have the ability […]

The measles outbreak which first began in Christchurch in early July has now spread to Auckland. The outbreak, which began at a Christchurch high school, soon spread to other schools in the city, although it was initially reported that it had been contained. It was quickly identified that some of those affected had, in fact, […]

A significant outbreak of measles in Christchurch is continuing to spread.   The incident started at the beginning of July when 4 students at a local high school were diagnosed with the disease.  Currently, there are 21 confirmed cases of measles in Christchurch, and the possibility of its spread to other schools and a childcare […]