WIREDGOV

Regular measles statistics updates issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

The latest number of laboratory confirmed measles cases in England have been published in an updated epidemiological overview  by UKHSA.

Since the last update a week ago, a further 56 laboratory confirmed measles cases have been confirmed in England, compared to 118 cases confirmed in the previous two weeks. This brings the total number of cases confirmed since 1 October 2023 to 521.

Although the initial outbreak in the West Midlands has driven the increase in cases, we are now starting to see clusters of cases in other regions.

In the 4 weeks since 15 January 2024, there have been 166 laboratory confirmed measles cases. The West Midlands accounted for the majority of these (55%, 91 of 166), mostly in Birmingham, although case numbers in that region appear to be stabilising. 

12% (20 of 166) of cases have been in London, 10% (17 of 166) in the North West, 10% in Yorkshire and the Humber (16 of 166) and 9% (15 of 166) in the East Midlands. 

Since 1 October in England there have been 521 laboratory confirmed measles cases, 17 cases were reported in October, 42 in November, 160 in December 2023, 252 in January and 50 so far in February 2024. 69 % (358 of 521) of these cases have been in the West Midlands, 14 % (71 of 521) in London and 7 % (37 of 521) in Yorkshire and The Humber. The remaining cases were reported in other regions of England.

The majority (343 of 521, 66 %) of these cases are in children under the age of 10 and 25% (133 of 521) in young people and adults over the age of 15.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, UKHSA Consultant Epidemiologist, said:

As expected, due to worryingly low MMR vaccine uptake in some areas across the country, we are now starting to see clusters of cases in other regions.

While parents are coming forward to take up the offer of the MMR vaccine for their children, there are still 100s of thousands of children who remain unprotected and therefore remain at risk of serious complications or life-long disability.

But measles is completely preventable with vaccination. I strongly urge parents to take up the offer of the MMR vaccine now to make sure their child is protected.

Measles spreads very easily among those who are unvaccinated, especially in nurseries and schools. People in certain groups, including babies, pregnant women, and people with weakened immunity, are at increased risk of complications from measles.

The data published in this epidemiological overview covers the period between 1 October 2023 and 13 February 2024 and is currently provisional, with the number of cases for the most recent months likely to increase as more suspected cases undergo confirmatory testing. Updates will be published every Thursday.