UK suffers increase in cases of measles

A big increase in measles' cases in Wales has prompted health bosses to renew a plea for unvaccinated people to get their MMR jabs immediately, it was announced here Thursday. Another 73 cases have now been reported - bringing the total number of those infected in the Swansea area of Wales to 693. Public Health Wales is continuing to urge parents of unvaccinated children across Wales to act immediately to ensure they are protected against the potentially fatal disease. Further drop-in vaccination clinics are planned this week following emergency clinics held last weekend. Although more than 2,600 MMR vaccines were received in the Swansea area last week, doctors warn this is not enough to bring the outbreak under control. Marion Lyons, director health protection at PHW, said at least 6,000 children remain unvaccinated in the south west Wales county. "With measles cases at almost 700, with 73 of those reported in the last two days alone, we remain extremely concerned that this outbreak is showing no signs of going away," she added. "We are delighted to see parents starting to arrange vaccination for their children but the numbers simply aren't high enough to bring the outbreak under control when 6,000 children remain at risk from measles in the Swansea area alone." Typical symptoms of measles include fever, cough, conjunctivitis and a rash. Complications are quite common even in healthy people, and about 20% of reported measles cases experience one or more complications. These can include ear infections, vomiting and diarrhoea, pneumonia, meningitis and serious eye disorders. Before the introduction of the MMR jab in 1988, about half a million children caught measles each year in the UK. Approximately 100 of those died. However, concerns over the jab's safety were raised in the late 1990s when a surgeon published a since discredited paper suggesting MMR was linked to an increased risk of autism. While the latest epidemic is based in Swansea, cases have continued to be reported across Wales.