CHILDREN are being forced to take three weeks off school in isolation as the country sees the biggest measles outbreak since the 1990s.
The drastic measures come as more than 300 confirmed or likely infections have been reported in the West Midlands since October.
GettyBirmingham Children’s Hospital has been inundated with the highest number of measles cases in decades[/caption]
In the last week of December, 55 suspected cases were reported in England and Wales
This has led to Birmingham Children’s Hospital being inundated with the highest number of measles cases in decades.
The outbreak has been put down to the low uptake of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) jab among children.
Vaccine uptake figures suggest around one in 10 children in nursery this year will not have had both doses of the lifesaving vaccine.
Birmingham City Council wrote to parents as schools reopened this winter to warn of rising measles cases, mainly among young children who have not had the MMR jab.
The letter said: “Anyone unvaccinated who is exposed to someone with measles may be advised to isolate for three weeks.”
The UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) told the Telegraph some children have already been forced to stay home because of measles.
“Children who have had to stay off school because of being in contact with a person with measles and being unvaccinated.
“If they have had one dose, they can stay in school, but if they have had neither, they are asked to stay off,” UKHSA said.
The agency’s West Midlands team told the newspaper that advice was issued on a ” case-by-case” basis.
Birmingham Children’s Hospital has treated 50 children for measles in the past month when normally no cases are expected.
Dr Neil Bugg of the Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust told the BBC: “It’s because it’s so contagious – if you put a child with measles in a room with ten unvaccinated people, nine of them would catch it.”
The latest UKHSA data shows there were 1,603 suspected measles cases in England and Wales in 2023.
The figure is more than twice as high as the 735 logged in 2022 and an almost five-fold rise compared to the 360 cases reported in 2021.
In the last week of December, 55 suspected cases were reported in England and Wales, with the majority coming from London and the West Midlands.
So, what’s going on?
There used to be between 160,000 and 800,000 cases a year in England and Wales.
But since a vaccine was introduced in 1968, it is estimated that 20million infections and 4,500 deaths have been prevented.
Since 1996, children in the UK have been offered two doses of the MMR jab – uptake needs to be 95 per cent to block the spread.
However, the UKHSA said only 85 per cent of five-year-olds in England have received the recommended two doses this year.
The figures for Birmingham are among the worst in the country, with just 74.5 per cent fully vaccinated by the age of five, the data, from last summer, shows.
Health protection consultant Dr Naveed Syed said this could be due to “various communities” holding “various beliefs around measles”.
“There are some Muslim communities who have concerns around the MMR, because one of the MMR vaccines does have ingredients derived from pork,” he told the BBC.
“However, there are other vaccines available that do not have any pork or pork derivate ingredients in them, which are perfectly safe to be given,” he added.
Susceptibility to the bug is also high among 19- to 25-year-olds, of which many went unvaccinated because of unfounded worries about the vaccine in the early 2000s.
According to the NHS, if one person has measles, up to nine out of 10 people around him or her will also become infected if they are not protected.
It has been suggested that the low uptake could be due to the national shortage of healthcare workers, who often are the only people to discuss vaccinations with parents.
Data from NHS Digital reveals there were 5,870 health visitors in July 2022, a drop of 43 per cent from its peak of 10,309 in October 2015.
The 6 symptoms to know
The main symptoms of measles are a rash, flu-like signs, tiredness, red eyes, fever and small grey spots on the back of the throat.
However, it can lead to serious complications, including ear infections, pneumonia and even death.
Prof Helen Bedford, an expert in child public health at University College London, added: “About one in 1000 people with measles develop inflammation of the brain (encephalitis), and even in high-income countries like the UK, about one in 5000 die from the infection.
“Measles is often more severe in adults,” she added.
“Apart from managing the symptoms of measles, there is no treatment.”
The main symptoms of measles parents need to know
How to protect your family
VACCINES are our best line of defence against diseases like measles
All children are offered the first dose of the super-effective MMR vaccine at age one and then the second at age three.
“There is no upper age limit for vaccination so if you or your loved ones have missed out, now is the time to get that protection,” Prof Helen, said.
“We can stop this infection in its tracks with vaccination.”
Parents can check that their children are up to date with their jabs by checking their vaccine records in the red book. If you don’t have a record, call your GP up to check.