NHS England has launched a campaign to encourage all parents to make sure their children have had their MMR vaccination, which is administered as two doses – the first just after their first birthday, and the other, at around the age of three years and four months.
It follows a warning from the UK Health Standards Agency (UKHSA) that unless MMR vaccination rates improve, London could see a measles outbreak of between 40,000 and 160,00 cases.
While outside London, there could be smaller outbreaks in specific populations including young people and under vaccinated communities.
The latest data shows that while most children are fully protected with both doses of MMR, one in ten five-year-olds in England are not – and in some areas of London up to two in five children are unprotected. This is below the World Health Organisation’s recommended level of 95 per cent vaccinated.
According the UKHSA, we have already seen an increase in the number of measles cases.
Between 1 January and 30 June this year, there were 128 cases of measles, compared to 54 cases in the whole of 2022. The majority of cases were detected in London.
'A measles outbreak in London is possible.'
While it says the risk of a measles epidemic across the UK is ‘low’, with current vaccination levels of coverage in London an outbreak is possible in the capital.
The UKHSA stresses that ‘achieving high vaccination coverage across the population provides ‘herd immunity’, which helps protect very young children (under one) and other vulnerable groups.’
The NHS is calling on families to find out the MMR vaccination status of their children by checking their child’s red book and contacting their GP to get caught up on any missed doses.
Symptoms of measles
The following information is from the NHS:
‘Measles spreads very easily and can cause serious complications such as meningitis and sepsis - with one in every five cases requiring a hospital visit.
‘It can start with cold-like symptoms and a high temperature up to several days before a rash appears and progresses through the rest of the body.
‘There is no specific treatment for measles. Vaccination provides 99 per cent of life-long protection from the virus.’
'Measles spreads very easily but is preventable.'
Dr Vanessa Saliba, UKHSA consultant epidemiologist, said, ‘Measles can be a serious infection that can lead to complications especially in young children and those with weakened immune systems.
'Due to longstanding sub-optimal vaccine uptake there is now a very real risk of seeing big outbreaks in London.
‘Measles spreads very easily but is preventable. It’s important everyone is fully vaccinated before travelling overseas this summer.’
