A measles outbreak in the UK has been declared a ‘national incident’ by that country’s Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
A senior UKHSA official, Dame Jenny Harries, said that the outbreak was partly because vaccination rates against the illness were far below those recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The epicentre of the outbreak is in the English Midlands, around Birmingham, where 200 cases have been reported.
The WHO recommends that the proportion of children starting school who have had two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine should be about 95%. However, in the UK the proportion is closer to 85%.
In addition, in some parts of London only half of the children are vaccinated against measles.
Measles is a highly contagious disease, with an infected person generally spreading the disease to between 12 and 18 other people.
While people generally recover fully from the illness, it can lead to complications, and about one in 20 children who catch measles develop pneumonia. In 2021 about 120 000 people worldwide died from measles.
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