Urgent action needed to prevent spread of measles

Further outbreaks of measles will spread to other towns and cities unless urgent action is taken to increase Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination uptake in areas at greatest risk, the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) has warned.

As of 18 January, there have been 216 confirmed cases and 103 probable cases in the West Midlands since 1 October 2023. Around 80% of cases have been seen in Birmingham, with about 10% in Coventry, the majority being in children aged under 10 years.

UKHSA chief executive Professor Dame Jenny Harries has expressed concern that unless urgent action is taken, measles is likely to spread rapidly in other areas with low MMR vaccine uptake.

The UKHSA has declared a national incident, to signal growing public health risk, to enable the Agency to focus on limiting further spread of the outbreak.

Professor Harries 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.

‘Immediate action is needed to boost MMR uptake across communities where vaccine uptake is low. We know from the pandemic that the communities themselves, and those providing services within them, will have the knowledge to best support local families to understand the risks of measles, to learn more about the vaccines that can protect them and to enable innovative vaccine delivery approaches. We need a long-term concerted effort to protect individuals and to prevent large measles outbreaks.’