Mrs. Emily Macintyre1, Mr Stephen Sparkham1, Mrs. Erica Thompson1, Miss Rheanna Taylor1
1WA Country Health Services, Bunbury, Australia
Biography:
Emily MacIntyre and Stephen Sparkham are Clinical Nurse Specialists in Infection Control with WA Country Health Service – South West. Collaborating with Central Office, Public Health, and local health sites, they lead a proactive team dedicated to delivering effective responses to infection prevention and control challenges across the region.
Abstract:
In early 2025, Western Australia’s South-West experienced a measles outbreak involving multiple confirmed cases – including inpatients, healthcare workers, and members of the local community – the first such outbreak in over a decade. This presentation examines the outbreak response from an infection prevention and control (IPC) leadership perspective, highlighting the operational challenges and strategic decisions required in a resource limited rural setting.
Unlike metropolitan hospitals with access to rapid diagnostics, negative pressure isolation rooms, and robust digital staff immunisation systems, our facility faced several systemic limitations. These included extended laboratory turnaround times due to geographic isolation, constrained airborne isolation room capacity, and the absence of a centralised immunity database for healthcare workers. Despite these hurdles, the IPC team coordinated a response that included early outbreak team activation, rapid patient and staff contact tracing, temporary service modifications, and an urgent on-site staff immunity review and MMR vaccination campaign.
This outbreak highlights both the resilience and vulnerability of rural health services. Strong interdisciplinary collaboration, dynamic risk assessments, and support from public health were critical in mitigating further transmission within the hospital and community.
This presentation aims to underscore the importance of flexible IPC leadership, adaptable outbreak protocols, and cross sector collaboration. It also advocates for system level improvements such as rural specific outbreak preparedness plans, digital immunity tracking for staff, and enhanced regional diagnostic support. These insights are particularly relevant for IPC professionals and healthcare leaders committed to strengthening infectious disease response capacity in rural and remote settings.