WHY I’M WORRIED ABOUT . . .

MEASLES. About 20 years ago, the take-up of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine plummeted after a (now roundly discredited) study linked it to autism.

Today, those children who didn’t get the jab face a real threat from measles. Cases in England have more than doubled this year already, while across Europe tens of thousands have been affected. And this isn’t ‘just a virus’, some are dying as a result.

So before your teen embarks on a gap year, or if they’re tagging along with you for a break in Germany or France, make sure they’ve had their MMR jab.