{"id":4452,"date":"2021-09-15T16:06:52","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T04:06:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/?page_id=4452"},"modified":"2026-02-24T12:31:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T23:31:10","slug":"measles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/","title":{"rendered":"Measles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Infection:<\/strong> Measles; rubeola<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Brief description:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<ul>\n<li>Highly contagious vaccine-preventable viral illness, capable of causing severe disease.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rash is generalised, but starts on the head and neck and spreads downwards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Measles is very unlikely in someone with a history of two doses of MMR vaccine, or who was born before 1969.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Did you know?<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<ul>\n<li>Measles is unlikely if the rash is not accompanied by at least one of: cough, coryza, conjunctivitis, or Koplik\u2019s spots, in addition to fever at time of rash onset.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Children with measles are typically still miserable and have fever at the time of rash onset. This differs from other common causes of childhood rash illness such as roseola, where rash onset coincides with the child looking and feeling much better and fever resolving.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Who should I test?<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p>This <strong>varies<\/strong> depending on <strong>current epidemiology<\/strong>. Consider testing for measles in those presenting with <strong>compatible symptoms<\/strong>, especially if possible <strong>exposure<\/strong>, or if <strong>unvaccinated and born after 1969<\/strong>. If in doubt discuss with a <strong>clinical microbiologist<\/strong> or <strong>public health<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Test of choice:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p>Request <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/scg.labapps.nz\/#\/WEL\/details\/27220\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Measles PCR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Viral nasopharyngeal <\/strong>or<strong> throat swab <\/strong>for<strong> measles PCR <\/strong>(<strong>RNA<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Urine<\/strong> may also be sent for PCR, but the above swabs are preferred<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Excellent<strong> sensitivity &#8211; <\/strong>a <strong>negative<\/strong> result on a well-collected sample within or before the <strong>first 3 days of rash<\/strong> makes the diagnosis <strong>very unlikely<\/strong>. Beyond day 3 the sensitivity drops.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Excellent<strong> specificity &#8211; <\/strong>a <strong>positive<\/strong> result <strong>confirms<\/strong> the diagnosis (unless recent vaccination has occurred)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/scg.labapps.nz\/#\/WEL\/details\/27235\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Measles serology<\/strong> <\/a>(<strong>IgM<\/strong> and <strong>IgG<\/strong>) is not the preferred method, but is used in some situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>If PCR testing within the first 3 days of rash is not possible then serology should be <strong>requested in addition to PCR<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/scg.labapps.nz\/#\/WEL\/details\/27870\">Measles IgM<\/a><\/strong> usually appears around <strong>day 3<\/strong> of rash\n<ul>\n<li>A <strong>negative<\/strong> result beyond day 3 makes the diagnosis <strong>less likely, <\/strong>however a<strong> positive <\/strong>result<strong> does not necessarily confirm <\/strong>infection, as <strong>cross-reactions<\/strong> with other illnesses can occur.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/scg.labapps.nz\/#\/WEL\/details\/27235\">Measles IgG<\/a><\/strong> usually appears around <strong>day 7<\/strong> of rash\n<ul>\n<li>A <strong>positive IgG<\/strong>, with a <strong>negative IgM<\/strong> within the <strong>first few days<\/strong> of rash therefore suggests prior immunity and makes measles <strong>unlikely.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Conversion<\/strong> from IgG <strong>negative<\/strong> to <strong>positive<\/strong> between acute and convalescent (10-14 days later) blood samples <strong>confirms<\/strong> measles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Tests to avoid\/specialist tests:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p><strong>Viral swabs <\/strong>of the<strong> rash <\/strong>for<strong> PCR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>These have <strong>limited<\/strong> <strong>sensitivity<\/strong> for detection of measles so are not recommended.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Other considerations:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p>Suspicion of measles should be <strong>notified immediately<\/strong> to public health<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>If there is <strong>sufficient suspicion to test<\/strong>, then public health must be notified.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>People with suspected measles should <strong>avoid waiting rooms<\/strong>, <strong>laboratory collection centres<\/strong>, or other areas where they could <strong>expose others<\/strong> to possible infection.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Infection: Measles; rubeola","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"parent":4222,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-left-sidebar.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Measles &#8211; Awanui Labs - Wellington<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Measles &#8211; Awanui Labs - Wellington\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Infection: Measles; rubeola\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Awanui Labs - Wellington\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-23T23:31:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fl-healthscope-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/lab-sites\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/Awanui-Labs-Lab-Technician-min.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"917\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/\",\"name\":\"Measles &#8211; Awanui Labs - Wellington\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-15T04:06:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-23T23:31:10+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"For Referrers\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Microbiology resources\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"How do I diagnose?\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":5,\"name\":\"Measles\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/\",\"name\":\"Awanui Labs - Wellington\",\"description\":\"Laboratory and pathology services\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Awanui Labs - Wellington\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-NZ\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fl-healthscope-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/lab-sites\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/RGB_Awanui-Labs-horizonal-colour-positive.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fl-healthscope-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/lab-sites\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/RGB_Awanui-Labs-horizonal-colour-positive.svg\",\"width\":861,\"height\":133,\"caption\":\"Awanui Labs - Wellington\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Measles &#8211; Awanui Labs - Wellington","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Measles &#8211; Awanui Labs - Wellington","og_description":"Infection: Measles; rubeola","og_url":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/","og_site_name":"Awanui Labs - Wellington","article_modified_time":"2026-02-23T23:31:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":917,"url":"https:\/\/fl-healthscope-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/lab-sites\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/Awanui-Labs-Lab-Technician-min.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/","url":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/","name":"Measles &#8211; Awanui Labs - Wellington","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-09-15T04:06:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:31:10+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-NZ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/measles\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"For Referrers","item":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Microbiology resources","item":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"How do I diagnose?","item":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"name":"Measles"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/","name":"Awanui Labs - Wellington","description":"Laboratory and pathology services","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-NZ"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#organization","name":"Awanui Labs - Wellington","url":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-NZ","@id":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fl-healthscope-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/lab-sites\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/RGB_Awanui-Labs-horizonal-colour-positive.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fl-healthscope-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/lab-sites\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/08\/RGB_Awanui-Labs-horizonal-colour-positive.svg","width":861,"height":133,"caption":"Awanui Labs - Wellington"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4452"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4452"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6888,"href":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4452\/revisions\/6888"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}