The UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) confirmed: “There have been children who have had to stay off school because of being a contact with a person with measles and being unvaccinated. If they have had one dose they can stay in school, but if they have had neither they are asked to stay off.”
The agency’s West Midlands team said advice was issued on a “case-by-case” basis, following talks between health protection officials and schools, with isolation lasting “a maximum of 21 days” to cover the incubation period.
Birmingham Children’s Hospital has treated 50 children for measles in the past month, when normally it would expect no cases.
Dr Neil Bugg, the deputy medical director at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, told the BBC: “It’s because it’s so contagious – if you put a child with measles in a room with 10 unvaccinated people, nine of them would catch it.”
The latest data from the West Midlands shows 198 lab-confirmed cases, of which just four were travel-related, and 104 “likely” cases, suggesting it is the largest outbreak seen in England since at least the mid-90s.
The latest published figures for England show MMR uptake is 83.8 per cent nationally against 88.3 per cent in 2014. The figures for Birmingham are among the worst in the country, with just 74.5 per cent fully vaccinated by the age of five, the data, from last summer, shows.
National statistics show cases of measles in England have more than quadrupled in the last year – but the data only covers up to the end of November. There were 209 confirmed casesin the first 11 months of last year, compared with 54 in the whole of 2022.
Sarah Carter is a health and wellness expert residing in the UK. With a background in healthcare, she offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being, promoting healthier living for readers.
