Students are being warned to check that they have been vaccinated against measles after a suspected case of the disease was reported on campus.

Students who sat supplementary (resit) examinations on 14th or 16th August were alerted by the university to possible exposure to the virus.

The email read: “A student who was sitting exams at this time has a suspected case of measles. You are advised to check you have been vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and, if you have not, to contact your GP as soon as possible to request vaccination.”

The news comes one day after Abertawe Bro Morgannwg Health Board urged all students and children to get the MMR vaccination.

It is estimated that 30,000 young people still have not received the jab, which was falsely linked to autism in the 1990s and saw immunisation levels dip below 60%.

A community can only be protected from the virus when over 95% of the population has been successfully immunised, otherwise it can spread quickly and cause an epidemic on the scale seen earlier this year in Swansea.

In that outbreak, there were 1,200 confirmed cases, and 20-year-old Gareth Colfer-Williams, from Swansea, died from pneumonia after contracting measles at the height of the epidemic.

Sara Hayes, director of Public Health at Abertawe Bro Morgannwg Health Board, said it was important young people had the full course of two MMR injections: “Now is the time for all students and pupils to make sure they are as fit as they can be for the new term.

“This advice also applies to young adults who are not in school, college or university. If you haven’t had two doses of MMR, ask for an appointment with your GP for MMR as soon as possible.

“Anyone who had their first dose of MMR during the recent measles outbreak needs to remember to have their second now, if they haven’t had it already.

“One dose of the vaccine gives some protection but two doses is more effective and enough to last a lifetime.”

Dr Hayes said doctors were also concerned about mumps and rubella after cases have risen.

She said there had been 76 confirmed cases of mumps in Wales in the first quarter, and that the disease could lead to complications including pancreatitis, swollen ovaries or testicles, and encephalitis.

The peak age group for the disease is 20 to 24 year olds.

Swansea University currently have a policy which requires everyone who enrols at the institution to have the MMR jab, to protect the student community from the virus.