Swansea man infected with measles at time of death

A man who died in from a suspected case of measles in South Wales was infected with the disease at the time of his death, health officials said today.

Tests confirmed the 25-year-old man from Swansea, who died yesterday, was infected with the highly contagious disease, Public Health Wales (PHW) confirmed.

ITV News Science and Medical Editor Lawrence McGinty reports:

He is believed to have been the first victim of the measles epidemic sweeping South Wales, but the cause of his death has yet to be confirmed

Director of health protection at PHW, Dr Marion Lyons, said, "The tests confirm only that the deceased had measles at the time of his death. Further investigations are being undertaken by the Swansea Coroner to establish the cause of death".

"My sympathies are with the family at such a tragic time. Whatever the cause of death in this case, we should not be surprised if, as the outbreak grows, we start to see deaths in Wales", Dr Lyons added.

A spokesman for the coroner's office confirmed it is investigating the "unexplained" death of a 25-year-old man.

The death comes as the rate with which the outbreak is spreading continues to grow rapidly with 43 additional cases in the two days to Thursday - bringing the total number of cases to 808.

Special drop-in vaccination sessions will take place in four hospitals across the region tomorrow.