Parents are being urged to check their children are up to date with their MMR vaccinations following a rise in cases of measles.
The UK Health Security Agency says there were 49 measles cases between January and April. This compares to 54 cases in the whole of 2022.
Measles is a highly infectious disease that can lead to serious problems such as pneumonia, meningitis, and on rare occasions, long-term disability or death. Symptoms include a high fever, sore red watery eyes and a blotchy red brown rash.
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Vaccination rates in England have dropped and are now well short of the 95% population coverage the World Health Organisation says is needed to eliminate outbreaks, reports The Mirror. Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: “Measles spreads very easily and can lead to complications that require a stay in hospital and on rare occasions can cause lifelong disability or death, so it is very concerning to see cases starting to pick up this year.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic we saw a fall in uptake for the routine childhood vaccinations, including MMR which leaves us vulnerable to outbreaks, especially as people travel abroad for summer holidays to places where measles is more common.”
The UKHSA is urging parents of young children, teenagers and adults to check that they are up to date with their MMR jabs, particularly before they travel this summer and before attending summer festivals where measles can spread more easily. Uptake for the first dose of the MMR vaccine in two-year-olds in England is 89%, and uptake of two MMR doses at age five years is 85%.
Measles is now circulating in many countries around the world and the WHO has warned that Europe is likely to see a resurgence unless countries catch up children who missed out. Children are offered the first dose of the MMR vaccine which protects against measles, mumps and rubella when they turn one and the second dose at three years and four months.
NHS England director of vaccinations Steve Russell said: “The NHS has an inspiring history of successful vaccination programmes that have proven time and time again they are the best tool in our arsenal against the spread of highly infectious diseases and since vaccination for measles cases was introduced, over 4,500 lives have been saved.
“The MMR vaccine has helped prevent the development of potentially life-threatening illness among millions, and it is clear that when uptake falls, infections rise, so I strongly urge parents to review the status of their child’s vaccinations so they can keep them and others protected from measles, mumps and rubella.”
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