The parents of a baby who caught measles on a flight home from Bali have described the horrifying ordeal as cases surge in a major city.
Virgin Australia pilot Adam Mather, 42, and his family flew back to Sydney from a holiday on the popular Indonesian island on December 20.
They later found out an infectious traveller had been on their plane.
While Mr Mather, his wife Tiffany and their four-year-old son Tobie had been vaccinated, baby Taylen – who was only 11 months old – had not yet been immunised.
‘He had a bit of a runny nose and I assumed it was just a standard cold because it had been a busy two weeks of travelling,’ Mr Mather told the Daily Mail. ‘Then we got a call from NSW Health informing us that someone on our flight had measles.’
The family, from northern Sydney, immediately went to the hospital to get tested.
‘Once we went to the hospital, that’s when I started getting worried and stressed out and feeling a bit guilty for taking him overseas,’ Mr Mather said.
Over the next few days, Taylen’s symptoms grew worse while they waited for the results, which came back positive.
Adam Mather, his wife Tiffany and their four-year-old son Tobie had been vaccinated against measles. But baby Taylen – who was only 11 months old – had not yet been immunised
Taylen (pictured) suffered from a head-to-toe rash, a fever and lost his appetite
‘By that stage, he was pretty sick. He wasn’t eating and lost some weight,’ Mr Mather said, adding that the infant suffered a fever in the high 39s to 40s.
‘After four or five days of the fever, that’s when the rash came on from top to bottom.
‘I felt so bad for him, because there’s nothing he could do about it. It wasn’t his fault.
‘His eyes were so red that he was constantly rubbing them.’
The rest of the family didn’t test positive for measles and fortunately did not have to take Taylen to hospital during his three-week recovery period.
‘I think it’s important that your children are vaccinated, especially with the upcoming school holidays and people going overseas,’ Mr Mather said.
He added that parents need to be aware of the risks when taking children overseas, and ensure they get their injections as soon as possible.
‘Obviously, in this case, Taylen was under 12 months, so he hadn’t had his vaccines yet. That was the unfortunate thing,’ he said. ‘We kind of took a chance there, but unfortunately, he still caught it.’
Taylen’s dad Adam Mather (pictured) has urged families to make sure they get vaccinated
Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease and immunisation is free for children between 12 and 18 months of age, as well as for anyone born after 1965 who has not received two doses.
There have been 60 cases of measles recorded in NSW between January 1, 2025, and March 7, 2026 – with 26 cases so far this year.
NSW Health warned people in Sydney to be alert for signs of the highly contagious infection after two new cases were confirmed on Wednesday.
One patient caught measles locally but the second has had no known contact and has not attended any known exposure locations.
‘With the source of their infection unknown, it is likely measles is currently circulating within the community,’ NSW Health noted.
It also warned that people travelling overseas to areas with measles cases are at risk if they are not immune.
Measles can be passed between people when someone breathes in the virus after it has been coughed or sneezed into the air by an infected individual.
Just being in the same room as someone with it can result in infection.
NSW Health has registered at least 60 locations – with dates and times – visited by someone infectious on its website.
Anyone who has been to the locations during those periods has been advised to monitor their symptoms for 18 days and seek medical help if any signs appear.
