Luxembourg’s Ministry of Health and Social Security has announced it was informed that a passenger on board a Luxembourg-Oslo flight on Friday 12 July 2024 and an Oslo-Luxembourg flight on Monday 15 July 2024 has been diagnosed with measles.
Measles is caused by a virus that is transmitted through the air. Unvaccinated children or children under one year of age are most likely to develop complications, as are pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems. The majority of the population is vaccinated against measles. However, people born between 1970 and 1990 may not have received the two necessary doses. People born before 1970 have generally contracted measles and are therefore protected, the ministry noted.
All passengers and cabin crew on the two flights concerned were contacted on Friday evening (from 18:00) to check that they had received both doses of the measles vaccine. If necessary, they were offered a vaccination on the morning of Saturday 20 July 2024, to limit the risk of developing measles following contact on the plane. Alternatively, all those concerned have the option of getting vaccinated at their doctor's office.
Luxembourg’s Health Directorate added that it conducted the investigation in collaboration with lux-Airport and Luxair to gather the necessary data to contact the passengers concerned and inform them as quickly as possible. The investigation also made it possible to inform the person's contacts at their workplace. People working at Luxembourg Airport were informed via their employers, including police and customs officers. Finally, the case was reported to Norway so that Contact Tracing could be carried out by the health authorities in Norway in places frequented on-site.
More information on measles is available on the Health Portal, at the following website: https://sante.public.lu/fr/espace-citoyen/dossiers-thematiques/v/vaccination/maladies-vaccinables/rougeole.html.
