Measles emergency warning as cases this year already dwarf those in whole of 2023

Experts are warning of a ‘measles emergency’ as the country faces the biggest outbreak of the virus since 2012 – with new figures painting a grim picture for the months ahead.

Almost 900 cases of the virus have been recorded in 2024 so far, compared with 368 cases recorded 2023, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), meaning England has seen more cases of the disease in the first four months of this year, than in the whole of last year.

Last year’s outbreak, which began in the West Midlands, has now also spread to every region of the country, with London named as one of the top hotspots. Roughly two-thirds of those affected are under the age of 10, although cases are also being reported in young adults who were not vaccinated some twenty five years ago. The MMR vaccine was first introduced in the UK in 1968, but up-take rates have been falling year on year.

Dr Helen Bedford, Professor of Children’s Health at UCL, said current vaccine uptake figures are too low to keep the virus at bay, and cases will only rise if they remain stagnant. She said: “This is the biggest outbreak of measles we’ve had since 2012. We’ve had more cases in the first four months of this year than in the whole of last year.

Dr Helen Bedford says vaccine uptake figures for the measles virus are too low

Vaccine uptake figures in the UK are still lower than the recommended 95%

“The main reason for that is vaccine uptake figures – for all vaccines, not just MMR – figures have been going down very slightly year-on-year for the last ten years. Our uptake for the MMR vaccines overall for England is 89.3% for the first dose, and 84.5% for the second dose.

“But the big, important thing about measles is that it is incredibly infectious. It is the most infectious respiratory disease around, and because of that, we need to have very very high levels of vaccine uptake. We need at least 95% for both doses.”

The key symptoms of measles include a high fever, coughing, sneezing, red and sore watery eyes, and rash that usually appears after the initial symptoms. Between 2000 and 2022, the measles vaccination is thought to have prevented an estimated 57 million deaths.

But the number of countries hit with significant measles outbreaks – measured by 20 cases per million over a 12 month period – has tripled from 17 to 51. In 2023, there were 321,582 cases worldwide, compared to 171,153 in the previous year, representing an 88% increase.

Dr Bedford continued: “To make the picture even more complicated, in addition to the young children that haven’t been vaccinated, we’ve got a group of young adults now who weren’t vaccinated twenty five years ago because their parents were scared of some research which has since been discredited, which suggested the vaccine might be linked to autism. Lots of children didn’t get vaccinated then, and are susceptible.

The Professor also warned that London may be hit the hardest as one of the UK’s next hotspots. She added: “It may be a bit more problematic in London, bcause of big, diverse populations and higher levels of mobilty. The UK Health Security Agency estimated that at the current levels of vaccine upptake, the outbreak in London alone would be between 40,000 and 160,000 cases.

“We have the potential to see many more cases unvaccinated children and young people are not vaccinated very quickly, because it really does spread like wildfire.”

Mum Davina Barret, 28, whose three-month-old son Ezra was hospitalised with measles back in January – has urged parents across the country to vaccinate their children as the ‘complications are severe’. Baby Ezra received oxygen to help him breathe due to respiratory distress brought on by the infection, developed pneumonia and was given extra medication to avoid going blind.

3-month-old Ezra was given extra medication to avoid going blind

The tot developed pneumonia as a result of the measles infection

Davina said: “The complications are too extreme to not take the vaccine. I want to stress that measles isn’t a simple virus, it’s very serious and there are lots of complications that can come about as a result of having the virus. For us, it was that Ezra caught Covid at the same time and developed pneumonia. It’s not just that he’s going to get measles and recover – it leaves their immune systems open for developing a range of infections, while battling the symptoms at the same time. It’s really hard for the body to overcome.

“There are things that didn’t happen to us thankfully – but things like meningitis are also a possibility. If a child is to get measles and they’re not taking the vaccine, you’re risking all of these things happening to your children, even small babies like Ezra, it’s not worth the risk for how sick they can become.

“It has a wider impact on your whole family. It took me and Karl away from our oldest son Noah for almost two weeks. It creates distress for the whole family.”

Ezra pictured with mum Davina, Dad Karl and big brother Noah

Speaking about the high risk of contracting measles, Dr Bedford added: “If you’re worried your child has a rash and you take them to A&E, and you might be sitting there a little while, the virus is so infectious that it will hang in the air for two hours after you’ve left.” It means anyone entering the same area, and breathing in the same air within that timeframe, is also at risk of contracting the disease.

Dr Beford also warned that initial mealses can often be mistaken for a cold. She said: “The problem with a lot of childhood illnesses is that they often start off quite innocuous. They often start off looking like a cold, so the first signs and symptoms would be feeling sniffly, maybe a little cough, loss of appetite, and that could go on for a few days.

“The characteristic symptoms of measles is the development of a rash, which starts on the head, usually around the ears and travels down the body. It’s a flat, blotchy rash. It can be less easy to see on dark coloured skin, so it’s not always obvious. You may also notice watery eyes, a dislike of light, and a high fever.

“There is another sign – which if you’ve got this, it’s definitely measles. It looks like little white grains of sand inside the cheeks. They’re called koplik spots. If somebody has them, it absolutely definitely is measles. The worrying thing about measles is it’s got a high complication rate – you can get pneumonia, fits, inflammation of the brain. It’s much worse catching it either when you’re very young, or when you’re an adult. These diseases are often worse for adults”, she added.