THE West Midlands has been hit by an outbreak of measles.
As many as 19 people across Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry have tested positive for the Victorian disease since October 1, health officials said.
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Paul Fisher, the UK Health Security Agency’s West Midlands consultant in health protection, is calling on parents to check that they, their children and teenagers have had two doses of MMR vaccine.
He said: “We are currently seeing cases of measles across the country, including the West Midlands region.
“While most people will recover completely within a couple of weeks, the virus can cause very serious illness – sometimes this can leave permanent disability, and it can even be fatal.”
Uptake of the MMR vaccine in the West Midlands is much lower than the 95 per cent needed to protect the population.
Mr Fisher added: “It’s really important that anyone who hasn’t already had two doses of the MMR vaccine by the time they started full-time school contacts their GP surgery for an appointment to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”
The affected individuals are all recovering, but hospital treatment was necessary for a few.
Most of the measles cases being seen have had no doses of the MMR vaccine.
The Warwickshire County Council who issued the alert, said more cases of the bug, which have not yet been confirmed, are likely to emerge.
Cardiff, Leicester and Sheffield have also been struck by an outbreak of the viral infection, with officials reporting a rise in cases over the last few weeks.
LOW VACCINE UPTAKE
It comes as MMR vaccination uptake is at a 12-year low.
Only 85 per cent of five-year-olds are fully vaccinated with the MMR jab this year.
At least 95 per cent of people need to be vaccinated for herd immunity, according to the World Health Organisation.
Measles is a highly infectious disease which spreads quickly from person to person, especially in schools.
It is so contagious that a child with it will infect up to nine out of 10 children around them if none are vaccinated.
The disease can sometimes cause pneumonia, brain-swelling meningitis or even death in the most severe cases.
Measles deaths globally spiked by more than 40 per cent last year, a new report from the WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows.
The research, published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), revealed an 18 per cent rise in measles cases between 2021 and 2022.
That’s an increase from 7.8million cases to 9.2million.
Measles deaths increased by 43 per cent globally, from 95,000 in 2021 to 136,200 in 2022.
Experts put the surge in outbreaks and deaths down to declining vaccination rates.
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The Notification of Infectious Diseases report (NOIDS), which tracks suspected infectious disease cases in England and Wales, showed cases were rising across both countries.
There were 664 suspected infections between July and November 26 – over double the 308 cases seen during the same period in 2022, the government data revealed.
Its most recent update showed 64 measles cases in the week ending November 26.
The East Midlands is one of the hardest-hit areas in the UK within the last week – with 14 suspected cases.
The North West comes next, with 12 cases, followed by London and the South East with nine each.
Wales comes in fourth with seven cases, while Yorkshire and Humber reported five and the North East four.
Meanwhile, the West Midlands and East of England had three cases, one case each.
The South West reported no cases.
What the are the symptoms of measles?
MEASLES usually begins with cold-like symptoms.
These include:
a high temperature
a runny or blocked nose
sneezing
a cough
red, sore, watery eyes
Small white spots may appear inside the cheeks and on the back of the lips a few days later. These spots usually last a few days.
A blotchy red rash usually appears a few days after the cold-like symptoms. It starts on the face and behind the ears before moving to the rest of the body.
It usually clears in seven to 10 days but can lead to other serious complications.
Severe complications can occur, including miscarriage in pregnant women, brain swelling and the risk of death from pneumonia.
It’s very unlikely to be measles if you’ve had both doses of the MMR vaccine or you’ve had measles before.
But it you think you or your child could have measles ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111.
Source: NHS