Prime Highlights
- A single death was seen in Liverpool and 17 were admitted to hospital following a sudden increase in cases of measles.
- Low UK vaccination rates for MMR are being squarely blamed for the measles epidemic.
Key Facts
- Liverpool’s five-year-olds’ rate of MMR vaccination has dropped to a meager 73%, significantly below the 95% threshold required for herd immunity.
- Measles is extremely contagious with the potential to cause severe complications and death.
Key Background
The UK is at this moment experiencing a catastrophic outbreak of measles and at the center of it is Liverpool. One death and 17 hospitalizations at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital have taken place in recent weeks. The fatal upsurge is being fueled by horrifically low rates of MMR vaccination, most notably among the great cities. Only 73% of Liverpool’s under-fives have taken two doses of the jab, well below the 95% needed to achieve protection on a population level by the World Health Organization in order to stop outbreaks.
At the national level, the UK national MMR vaccination coverage has fallen to 84%, and some areas, including London boroughs, are just at 65%. Having fallen steadily over the last decade, this has exposed pockets of unvaccinated children to more probable and more serious outbreaks. The fall is explained by experts not just through vaccine misinformation but also through appointment defaults and non-follow-up by the healthcare systems.
Measles is an extremely infectious viral disease, one that will infect as many as 90% of the unimmunized who are not protected. With the exception of rash and fever on presentation, measles results in serious complications of pneumonia, encephalitis, and permanent neurological damage. It is even in worst-case scenarios life-threatening, as this new case in Liverpool exemplifies.
Alder Hey Hospital has even initiated on-site MMR immunization in its accident unit, and mobile units have been sent to high-risk areas. Even health care workers are reminding parents to sift through the immunization history of the children and attend catch-up immunization clinics that have been planned to function nationwide. Public health officials explain that unless one acts precipitously, measles spreads from school to school and from community to community during the summer and places even more children at risk.
