A measles outbreak in the Whitsundays, Queensland: the shape of things to come?

This report describes a small outbreak of measles that occurred in the Whitsunday region, north Queensland, in July to August 2002. With one exception, all the cases were deliberately unvaccinated because their parents were conscientious objectors to vaccination. It is suggested that this pattern of measles outbreaks, with most cases being not preventable because of conscientious objection, will become increasingly recognised in the future.