Measles: Urgent action needed to stop outbreak spreading across towns and cities, say health experts
A national incident has been declared by the authorities signalling the growing public health risk in the face of falling vaccination rates, as people are urged to get the MMR jab against the potentially deadly virus.
Friday 19 January 2024 19:13, UK
Urgent action is needed to stop further outbreaks of measles across towns and cities, health experts say.
Vaccination rates across the country have been falling, but there are particular concerns about some regions, including parts of London and the West Midlands.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is calling for more people to get the MMR jab to prevent the spread of the potentially deadly virus.
Official figures show there have been 216 confirmed and 103 probable measles cases in the West Midlands since last October.
Around 80% of cases were identified in Birmingham and about 10% in Coventry, with the majority being in children aged under 10.
Separate data indicated there were 1,603 suspected cases of measles in England and Wales in 2023 - up from 735 in 2022, and just 360 the year before.
Public Health Scotland said there have been "very few" cases north of the border.
The UKHSA has declared a national incident signalling the growing public health risk and to enable the organisation to focus on limiting the outbreak, including targeting those at greatest risk.
Worrying reminder of how fast potentially devastating disease can spread
This measles outbreak is extremely worrying. It is a highly contagious disease and potentially very dangerous. In some cases fatal.
But the outbreak is not surprising as vaccination coverage for under-fives is at its lowest rate for the past 10 years.
The trend had been downwards for the MMR jab pre-COVID and the pandemic certainly made things worse in terms of access to vaccination clinics and parental uncertainty about NHS services.
And there is undoubtedly more vaccine hesitancy among parents because of misinformation spread on social media.
But this is unlikely to be the sole reason.
Chief executive Dame Professor Jenny Harries has stressed the need for all areas to turn around falling vaccination rates across the country.
She said: "Colleagues across the West Midlands have worked tirelessly to try to control the outbreak, but with vaccine uptake in some communities so low, there is now a very real risk of seeing the virus spread in other towns and cities.
"Children who get measles can be very poorly and some will suffer life-changing complications.
"The best way for parents to protect their children from measles is the MMR vaccine. Two doses of the MMR vaccine give lifelong protection and it's never too late to catch up."
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She added: "Immediate action is needed to boost MMR uptake across communities where vaccine uptake is low.
"We need a long-term concerted effort to protect individuals and to prevent large measles outbreaks."
Read more:
What is measles - and how do you protect against it?
Measles cases are surging - here's why
Measles spreads very easily among those who are unvaccinated, especially in nurseries and schools.
The most serious cases can lead to hospitalisation and even death.
People in certain vulnerable groups including babies and young children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immunity, are at increased risk of complications from measles.
More than 99% of those who have two doses of the MMR vaccine will be protected against measles and rubella.
The vaccine also provides protection against mumps, which can be very painful with complications.
Although mumps protection is slightly lower, cases in vaccinated people are much less severe.