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Measles

Find most of the information you need in these resources

Always refer to your local signed PGD's in practice, and remember the Green Book takes priority over the SPmC - and sometimes WHO takes priority over the Green Book! They don't always say the same!

Recent Updates & News

13th July: Terrible news :-( Child dies as measles cases surge at Liverpool hospital. Meanwhile over in Texas: US posts highest annual measles case tally in 33 years amid Texas outbreak

2nd June 2025: This article highlights some important concerns over in the USA around the epicenter of an outbreak: Measles Update: Inside the Battle to Stop the Outbreak: Among other things: “We’re seeing mothers who are scared, crying in the clinic because they have a baby that they have delivered just 6 weeks ago and they know that the child is too young to receive a measles vaccine”.

29th May 2025: Intriguing title... we have been focusing on second doses moving earlier but what about first doses?... Earlier measles vaccine could help curb global outbreak.

30th April: A BIG update came along today - the 'changes to the routine childhood schedule letter'. Big read with lots of changes to absorb. I won't repeat it all here but do have a good read.... some of this relates to MMR scheduling on the childhood prog. (see UKHSA webinar link on news page in June and consider registering for more info). Expect Green Book updates, PGD changes and perhaps a small amount of chaos while we adapt to the changes. Keep calm and keep the kettle on....

As of April 24, there have been 884 confirmed measles cases in 2025 in the USA. This is more than three times last year’s total of 285 measles cases there - while still only in the second quarter of the year. A vaccination coverage of 95% is needed for herd immunity. In Gaines County, Texas, where the most recent outbreak began and is now the most concentrated region of the outbreak, two MMR dose coverage is only 82%.

10th April 2025: Measles outbreaks in US and Canada show that MMR vaccines are needed more than ever – an expert in children’s health explains

10th April 2025: Confirmed cases of measles in England by month, age, region and upper-tier local authority: 2024. In summary, from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024 there were 2,911 laboratory confirmed measles cases. There was a rapid increase in cases in late 2023 driven by a large outbreak in Birmingham, with subsequent rises in London and small clusters in other regions in the first half of 2024. Case counts then followed a downward trajectory from mid-July with small, localised outbreaks affecting the South West, Yorkshire and Humber and East Midlands regions. Among the 2,911 cases, the majority (1,722 of 2,911, 60.9%) were in children aged 10 years and under, and 31.9% (929 of 2,911) were in young people and adults aged 15 years and over. During this period, all regions had reported at least one confirmed case. However, most cases were reported in London (1,305 of 2,911, 44.8%), West Midlands (562 of 2,911, 19.3%) and East of England (252 of 2,911, 8.7%). 134 upper tier local authorities reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset in 2024, with the highest numbers reported in Birmingham (364 of 2,911, 12.5%), Lambeth (178 of 2,911, 6.1%) and Wandsworth (152 of 2,911, 5.7%). One acute measles-related death was reported in 2024 in a young person who was known to have other medical conditions.

13th March: Measles highest in 25 years in Europe, WHO says

11th March 2025: From 1 January to 20 March 2025, 17 States in the USA have reported a total of 378 cases of measles, including two deaths - the first deaths related to measles in the United States in a decade. The majority of cases are in children who are unvaccinated or have unknown vaccination status, and the overall hospitalisation rate is 17%. In 2025, within the larger public health event, there are three distinct measles outbreaks reported, accounting for 90% (341/378) of reported cases.

12th March 2025: LA County reports first measles case of 2025—in LAX traveler—as cases confirmed in Philadelphia

10th March: Maryland resident confirmed to have measles after international travel

7th March: Oh No!! A second measles death in the USA, not surprisingly, both unvaccinated :-( Huge shame.

28th Feb 2025: From GP contract 25/26 (varicella info included for context):

MMR programme schedule change and catch-up effective from 1st Jan 2026: Children turning 18 months on or after 01 January 2026 will receive their 2nd MMR dose at their new 18-month appointment. Children aged 18 months to 2 years 6 months on 01 January 2026 will be invited to a brought forward appointment for their 2nd MMR dose between 01 January 2026 and 31 October 2026. Children aged 2 years and 7 months to 3 years 4 months on 01 January 2026 will receive their 2nd MMR dose at their existing scheduled 3 years 4 months appointment before 31 October 2026.

Varicella introduction and catch-up (subject to final policy decision) effective from 1st Jan 2026: Children turning 12 months on or after 01 January 2026 will receive two doses of MMRV (at 12 and 18 months). Children turning 18 months on or after 01 January 2026 will receive one dose of MMRV (to complete their two-dose MMR schedule). Children aged 18 months to 3 years 4 months on 01 January 2026 will receive one dose of MMRV instead of their 2nd MMR dose. Of this cohort: those aged 18 months to 2 years 6 months will be invited to a brought forward appointment for their 2nd MMR dose (as MMRV) between 1 January 2026 and 31 October 2026. Those aged 2 years 7 months to 3 years 4 months on 1 January 2026 will receive their 2nd MMR dose (as MMRV) at their existing scheduled 3 years 4 months appointment before 31 October 2026. Children aged 3 years 4 months to less than 6 years will be invited for a universal single catch-up dose of MMRV. Appointments to be scheduled from 1 January 2026 and completed by 31 March 2027. Children aged 6 years to less than 11 years will be invited to receive a single dose of MMRV if they have no history of chicken pox. Appointments to be scheduled from 1 January 2026 and completed by 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027, an opportunistic or on request offer will remain for varicella (as a single dose of MMRV) to all children aged 3 years 4 months to less than 11 years before 1 January 2026 who have no history of chicken pox.

27th Feb 2025: Article: First case of measles reported in Kentucky as US battles spread of disease. Adult infected with highly contagious virus that claimed life of unvaccinated child earlier this week.

20th Jan 2025: Updates to the document MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine: advice for pregnant women

14th Nov 2024: Oh dear. This was quite shocking. The WHO have worked out what our measles stats were looking like during 2023. Unfortunately, worldwide, there were an estimated 10.3 million cases of measles in 2023, a 20% increase from 2022. The WHO blames it on low uptake of vaccination, describing measles deaths as; "an unacceptable death toll". I am inclined to agree. The WHO Director-General sums it up when he says, "Measles vaccine has saved more lives than any other vaccine in the past 50 years".

October 2024: Possible measles exposure at airports in Vancouver, Toronto and Fredericton prompts warning. Always consider MMR vaccination status when consulting with travelers. It's not just about the destination. The journey is just as much of a risk!

Sept 2024: Study shows gradual waning of MMR vaccine effectiveness over time. The waning is small, but may have significance, especially in under-vaccinated populations.

MAY 2024 Regular measles statistics updates issued by the UKHSA. From October to April in England there have been 1109 laboratory confirmed measles cases:

17 cases were reported in October 2023
41 in November 2023
153 in December 2023
274 in January 2024
253 in February 2024
299 in March 2024

Alarming upward trend!!!

APRIL 2024 FAQ's published for the public on MMR in England

APRIL 2024 National measles guidelines published

MMR Vaccine & Autism claims:

Some findings from the literature

Here are some simple reassuring study findings taken from the Green Book if this becomes a topic of discussion in a consultation:

No increased risk of autism in children vaccinated with MMR compared with unvaccinated children (Farrington et al., 2001; Madsen and Vestergaard, 2004)
No clustering of the onset of symptoms of autism in the period following MMR vaccination (Taylor et al., 1999; De Wilde et al., 2001; Makela et al., 2002)
The increase in the reported incidence of autism preceded the use of MMR in the UK (Taylor et al., 1999)
The incidence of autism continued to rise after 1993, despite the withdrawal of MMR in Japan (Honda et al., 2005)
There is no correlation between the rate of autism and MMR vaccine coverage in either the UK or the USA (Kaye et al., 2001; Dales et al., 2001)
No difference between the proportion of children developing autism after MMR who have a regressive form compared with those who develop autism without vaccination (Fombonne, 2001; Taylor et al., 2002; Gillberg and Heijbel, 1998)
No difference between the proportion of children developing autism after MMR who have associated bowel symptoms compared with those who develop autism without vaccination (Fombonne, 1998; Fombonne, 2001; Taylor et al., 2002)
No vaccine virus can be detected in children with autism using the most sensitive methods available (Afzal et al., 2006).

The fake MMR claims that struck fear into generations of parents: Metro article

Have a google of Andrew Wakefield. This discredited doctor is one of the reasons we still see a lot of anxiety around MMR vaccines

MMR for all: general leaflet

This leaflet explains the measles mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine for all ages.

Bits and bobs to casually drop into conversation

Did you know....

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases we have!

According to the VKP:

In high-income regions of the world, such as Western Europe, measles still causes death in about 1 in 5000 cases.
In the poorest regions, as many as 1 in 100 will die.
Before widespread vaccination was introduced, the disease caused an estimated 2.6 million global deaths each year.
In 2016 about 90,000 people died of measles- this was the first year on record when global measles deaths fell below 100,000 a year.
in 2022 measles cases rose by 18%, and deaths by 43%, compared with 2021. During this time, worldwide vaccination coverage also declined to its lowest level since 2008
Since a measles vaccine was introduced in the UK in 1968, the UK Health Security Agency estimates that 20 million measles cases, and 4,500 deaths, have been averted. How amazing are vaccines?!!!

Click the image to go to the source and see more pictures of Measles.