Further measles outbreaks could spread across Britain, Britain’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has warned, after declaring a national emergency amid a surge in cases and low vaccination rates.
Recent figures from the agency showed a sharp increase in measles cases, with uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine at its lowest level in more than a decade and “well below” recommended coverage , said the head of the UKHSA. director, Dame Jenny Harries, has said.
“This is a call across the country for all parents to check their children’s vaccination rates,” Harries told BBC Radio 4’s Today program as she headed to the West Midlands, which has seen the biggest outbreak in recent memory. of the infection has occurred. outside London.
Data released by the agency earlier this week showed there had been 216 lab-confirmed cases in the West Midlands since October last year, of which 103 were probable. About 80% of cases occurred in Birmingham and 10% in Coventry, according to the agency, citing low vaccination rates. Most cases involved children under the age of 10.
The average number of children attending school who have had both MMR doses has fallen to 85%, Harries said, with figures in some parts of the West Midlands up to 81% and just above 70% in the NHS Surrey Heartlands region . According to the BMJ, Birmingham Children’s Hospital has treated more than 50 cases of measles in the past month.
“We are well below the recommended coverage for MMR vaccination,” says Harries. “It’s clearly not where we want the vaccination program to be, we want it to be 95%.”
Measles may start with cold symptoms, followed by a rash. According to the UKHSA, it can lead to serious illness, with an estimated 20-40% of children being admitted to hospital. In 2016 and 2017 the disease was considered eliminated in Britain, meaning transmission had stopped, but reemerged in 2018.
The MMR shot is given to children in two doses: the first when they are one year old, and a second when they are three years and four months old. The World Health Organization recommends that at least 95% of children be immunized against diseases that can be stopped by vaccines.
According to the UKHSA, this occurred between January and November 2023 209 laboratory-confirmed cases of measles in England, almost half of which is in London. The agency said cases were rising following outbreaks in the West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber.
The call for vaccination comes amid concerns that the virus is spreading to London, where up to 20% of children go to school unvaccinated, according to Harries. “That is a significant risk to the people of London,” she said, urging young adults to also get vaccinated.
In July, the UKHSA carried out a risk assessment and warned the capital of the risk of a major measles outbreak that could result in tens of thousands of cases, dozens of deaths and thousands of hospital admissions.
“Predictably we see that movement more towards other – particularly inner-city – areas where we know vaccination rates are low, and we know large numbers of children will be congregating,” Davies said.
London has the lowest proportion of children who have received both doses, according to NHS data for the year 2022-2023, with Hackney in east London at 56.3%, followed by Camden in north London at 63.6%.
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Mobile vaccination clinics are being offered in areas such as Camden as more than a quarter of children attend school without their two MMR vaccinations, said Kirsten Watters, the council’s director of health and wellbeing.
“When we talk to parents, we know that most plan to vaccinate their children and that they have a high level of confidence,” Watters said. “They just find it difficult to organize those appointments.”
Some of the reasons why vaccine uptake varies between different communities include the use of porcine gelatin in an MMR vaccine. Because MMR vaccines are available that do not contain pork gelatin, Harries said information needs to be made more available and provided by trusted community leaders.
“It’s clearly important that communities have good information in a way that is meaningful to them, that is accessible to them, and that doesn’t necessarily mean just a pamphlet or a translation, we’ve seen that during the pandemic,” Harries said .
“Despite our concerns, the British public generally trusts the vaccine delivery and especially the advice they receive from primary care and the NHS,” she added.