Measles clusters spread to North West and Midlands

CLUSTERS of measles cases are appearing across England as health officials say their fears of the disease spreading have been realised.

A further 56 cases of measles were confirmed by health authorities last week, bringing the total to 521, increasing the number since October by 12 per cent in a week.

Having initially been contained in the West Midlands, cases are starting to appear elsewhere.

For the first time, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has reported significant clusters of outbreaks in the North West and East Midlands.

In the past four weeks there have been 166 confirmed cases of the virus, of which 55 per cent were in the West Midlands.

A further 12 per cent were in London, 10 per cent in each of the Yorkshire and Humber and North West regions, and nine per cent in the East Midlands.

Health officials said numbers in Birmingham, where the outbreak appears to have originated, appears to be “stabilising”.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, UKHSA consultant epidemiologist, said the spread was “due to worryingly low MMR vaccine uptake”.

“We are now starting to see clusters of cases in other regions,” she said. “While parents are coming forward to take up the offer of the MMR vaccine for their children, there are still 100,000s of children who remain unprotected and, therefore, remain at risk of serious complications or life-long disability.

“Measles is completely preventable with vaccination. I strongly urge parents to take up the offer of the MMR vaccine now to make sure their child is protected.”