COVID-19 restrictions have helped dampen down a rise in measles cases in Australia and neighbouring Pacific nations, a leading public health physician says.

Imported measles cases had been slowly climbing in Australia, reaching a five-year high of 285 cases in 2019 — but so far this year, there’s been only 25 cases, with none in March, April or May.

Australia was listed by the WHO as eliminating measles in 2014.

Professor David Durrheim, director of health protection at Hunter New England Health and a conjoint professor at the University of Newcastle, says the ban on international travel had stopped Australians who were not fully vaccinated from contracting measles abroad in tourist spots like Fiji.