Cash injection for measles vaccinations

10:15am Tuesday 12th August 2008

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PARENTS are being urged to vaccinate their children against measles following warnings of a potential outbreak of the virus.

The Department of Health is making extra vaccine and more funds available to help local health trusts vaccinate more children.

The number of cases of measles in England is rising following a decade of relatively low vaccine uptake.

This has been partly blamed on claims by Dr Andrew Wakefield that there was a link between the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism.

Subsequent research has since found no link between autism and MMR vaccine and Dr Wakefield is currently appearing before a General Medical Council fitness to practice panel.

Measles is a highly infectious disease, which can be life threatening and children affected can even end up deaf or susceptible to inflammation of the brain.

In 2006 and 2007 there were 1,726 confirmed cases in England and Wales - more than the previous ten years put together.

There were 170 notified cases of measles in the south west region in 2006, twelve of which were in Wiltshire.

It is estimated that around three million children aged 18 months to 18 years old have missed either their first or second MMR vaccination.

Children receive their first dose at around 13 months of age, and the second dose at around three and a half years.

Dr Jo Peden, Public Health Speciality Registrar at Wiltshire Primary Care Trust said: "As immunisation rates have fallen there is now a real chance there may be a measles outbreak.

"Measles is a serious disease and in some cases can be fatal - I would urge all parents who have not had their children immunised with MMR to take advantage of this campaign and take their child to the GP for their vaccination".

The previous success of the MMR vaccination programme reduced the number of measles cases to very low levels for a number of years.

Between 1992 and 2006 there were no deaths from acute measles in England however there was one death in 2006 and another in 2008.

Professor David Salisbury, Director of Immunisation at the Department of Health, said: "Parents who have not had their children vaccinated with the MMR vaccine should do so now.

"The evidence on MMR is absolutely clear - there is no link between the vaccine and autism".