A passenger on an international flight from Bali to Sydney, who then travelled on to Melbourne on March 10, has been hospitalised with measles, sparking a health alert.

The man was on Qantas flight QF44 from Denpasar to Sydney. He then travelled on to Melbourne on QF415, which landed at Melbourne Airport at 10:35am.

He got sick after the flight and was hospitalised almost a week later following the confirmation of his diagnosis.

A statement from the Victorian Health Department said the man may have been infectious on both of those flights and when he visited the Lentil as Anything restaurant in Abbotsford that afternoon.

Measles usually begins three to seven days after the first symptoms and is highly infectious.

It can be especially serious for young children and adults, with potentially serious complications such as pneumonia.

“We are working with airline officials to identify and contact passengers who shared both the international flight into Sydney and the domestic flight into Melbourne,” Dr Finn Romanes from Health Department said.

“People who were at Melbourne Airport on Saturday March 10, particularly around the domestic baggage collection area, who develop illness from now until Wednesday April 4 should alert their doctor or hospital emergency department.”

It is the third measles alert this month alone, with other cases traced to a British backpacker and an Australian man who had been in Kuala Lumpur.

Measles is now uncommon in Australia because of the widespread use of the measles vaccine, but it is often brought into the country by overseas travellers.