Measles jab advice to parents

2:40pm Saturday 19th July 2008

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FOLLOWING an outbreak of measles among primary school children in Birmingham, Worcestershire parents are being urged to get their children immunised against measles.

Measles is a dangerous disease that spreads easily among unvaccinated populations and can lead to severe complications and, in rare cases, can cause deaths.

Fortunately, children can be protected by having two doses of the MMR vaccine, which is normally given at one and three to five years of age, says Worcestershire Primary Care Trust.

Dr Alan Tweddell, consultant at West Midlands West Health Protection Unit, said: “Fortunately, the outbreak has not spread to Worcestershire yet but we need to make sure that our children are protected.”

Dr Richard Harling, Director of Public Health at Worcestershire PCT, said: “The MMR vaccine is safe and effective. Children who have never had the MMR vaccine or only received one dose should see their GP.”

Parents can get more information about measles and the MMR vaccine from:

Measles homepage

http://www.mmrthefacts.nhs.uk/

http://www.mmrthefacts.nhs.uk/library/thediseases.php

1. Anyone concerned about the signs or symptoms of measles should contact their GP or NHS Direct 0845 4647

2. Symptoms of measles include fever, rash (flat red or brown blotches that can flow into each other), red eyes, cough and diarrhoea.

3. Measles is most infectious from four days before the appearance of the rash until four days afterwards. A child should be kept off school for five days after the onset of the rash.

4. Measles is a very infectious viral illness that used to affect up to 800,000 people per year. Since the introduction of the MMR vaccine, the numbers of cases has fallen to very low levels. However, MMR vaccine coverage decreased between 1995 and 2003. There have been several outbreaks of measles in communities with historically low vaccine uptake in 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2007.

5. MMR uptake in Worcestershire is currently around 80 per cent, which means that a fifth of young children are at risk of getting the disease, warns Worcestershire PCT. This is just above the current national average for MMR uptake but remains well below the 95 per cent coverage recommended by the World Health Organisation.

6. Worcestershire PCT says the MMR scare has now been proven to be completely unfounded.