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Source: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23504098-details/Measles+'could+hit+tens+of+thousands'/article.do
Measles 'could hit tens of thousands'
Ellen Widdup
01.07.08
London is on the brink of a measles epidemic that could infect tens of thousands of people, a public health chief claims.
The virus, which is potentially lethal to children, has hit hundreds in the capital in recent months, 500 of whom live in Lewisham.
Simon Tanner, regional director of Public Health London, blamed a failure by parents to give their children the triple measles, mumps and rubella jab.
He told the London Assembly's health and public services committee: "Right now measles presents the most severe risk of any contagious illness.
"Some people consider it to be a trivial illness. It is not. One in four people end up in hospital and the recent outbreaks in London have affected all ages - adults and children.
"This is chiefly due to a failure in immunisation programmes in the capital."
The current take-up rate of MMR jabs at the age of two is 70 per cent, down from 90 per cent in 1996.
There was a public backlash against the vaccine after a 1998 research paper, which has since been discredited, linked it to autism.
Mr Tanner said: "We have some PCTs with rates of 80 per cent and some in the 50s, such as Lewisham at 52 per cent. It is no surprise that about 500 people there were affected by an outbreak earlier this year."
He added: "We could be looking at an outbreak affecting numbers in five figures."
The Health Protection Agency has signed an EU agreement to eradicate measles by 2010. But Mr Tanner said this would be difficult unless it could better spread the message about the safety and importance of the MMR vaccination.
He said more work was needed to give people confidence in the immunisation programme.
"This is safe, effective and prevents an outbreak of a very serious illness."
Measles 'could hit tens of thousands'
Ellen Widdup
01.07.08
London is on the brink of a measles epidemic that could infect tens of thousands of people, a public health chief claims.
The virus, which is potentially lethal to children, has hit hundreds in the capital in recent months, 500 of whom live in Lewisham.
Simon Tanner, regional director of Public Health London, blamed a failure by parents to give their children the triple measles, mumps and rubella jab.
He told the London Assembly's health and public services committee: "Right now measles presents the most severe risk of any contagious illness.
"Some people consider it to be a trivial illness. It is not. One in four people end up in hospital and the recent outbreaks in London have affected all ages - adults and children.
"This is chiefly due to a failure in immunisation programmes in the capital."
The current take-up rate of MMR jabs at the age of two is 70 per cent, down from 90 per cent in 1996.
There was a public backlash against the vaccine after a 1998 research paper, which has since been discredited, linked it to autism.
Mr Tanner said: "We have some PCTs with rates of 80 per cent and some in the 50s, such as Lewisham at 52 per cent. It is no surprise that about 500 people there were affected by an outbreak earlier this year."
He added: "We could be looking at an outbreak affecting numbers in five figures."
The Health Protection Agency has signed an EU agreement to eradicate measles by 2010. But Mr Tanner said this would be difficult unless it could better spread the message about the safety and importance of the MMR vaccination.
He said more work was needed to give people confidence in the immunisation programme.
"This is safe, effective and prevents an outbreak of a very serious illness."