Why are measles cases rising in the UK and who can get the MMR vaccine?

A young child died at the Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool after contracting measles, which raises concerns about the spread of the disease.

Cases have increased in the United Kingdom and worldwide, with more than 500 reported since January in England only.

The increase is blamed for the poor absorption of the ROR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella).

Measles is a very contagious disease that is propagated by cough and sneezing.

Common symptoms include:

• fever
• painful, red and aqueous eyes
• cough
• sneezing

Small white spots can appear inside the mouth.

A red or stained rash rash usually appears after a few days, usually on the face and behind the ears, before spreading.

The eruption can be more difficult to see on brown and black skin.

The measles clears normally within seven to 10 days. However, this can cause pneumonia, meningitis, blindness and convulsions.

Babies and young children, pregnant women and those who have a weakened immune system are at increased risks.

Benefits can be fatal, but it is rare.

Between 2000 and 2023, 26 children and adults died in England and in Wales or related infections.

Before the last case in Liverpool, the last child to die for complications from measles was Renae Archer, 1023, in 2023.

You can catch measles at any age. It is possible – but highly improbable – to catch it twice while the body strengthens immunity to illness after being infected.

Getting it during pregnancy can lead to mortinity, miscarriage or birth of babies.

The NHS advises adults to ensure that they had both doses of the ROR vaccine before starting a family.

There were 2,911 confirmed cases of measles in England in 2024, which has been the highest annual total since 2012.

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), it started with an epidemic in Birmingham, which was then exceeded by an increase in business in London.

More than 60% of 2024 cases were in children 10 and under.

As of July 3, 529 cases were reported in England in 2025, with 68% in children under the age of 10:

• 44% (233) in London
• 12% (64) in eastern England
• 12% (64) in the northwest

The Alder Hey hospital has treated 17 children for measles since June.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have warned that the number of measles in the European region has doubled at 127,350 in 2024 – the highest level in 25 years.

A report by the two organizations said that children under the age of five represented more than 40% of the cases reported in Europe and Central Asia.

As of July 4, there were nearly 1,300 cases of confirmed measles in the United States – a 33 -year -old summit.

More than nine out of 10 of the affected people (92%) were not vaccinated or did not know their vaccination status.

Texas is the most affected state with more than 700 cases. Kansas and New Mexico have also had epidemics.

At least three people died and 155 other people were hospitalized.

The number of young primary schoolchildren in the United Kingdom who had the two recommended doses of the ROR vaccine is less than the observation of people.

NHS figures for 2023-2024 show that 84.5% of children in the United Kingdom had received two doses of ROR on their fifth anniversary. The recommended figure is 95%.

In the whole of England, London had the lowest adoption at 73.3%, followed by West Midlands at 83.1%and from North West to 84.5%.

WHO said vaccination rates have also dropped across Europe, leaving millions of children in danger.

Children’s health experts say that some parents underestimate the seriousness of measles because the success of the vaccination program has meant that it had been largely eradicated.

In addition, many routine health meetings were missed during the cocovio pandemic.

There are also people who wrongly believe that JAB MMR is linked to autism. Researcher Andrew Wakefield falsely said that the two were linked in 1998.

His work was rejected later, and Wakefield was struck off by the General Medical Council in 2010, but the fears of the JAB persisted despite being refuted.

The first measles vaccinations were introduced in the United Kingdom in 1968. The MMR vaccine in two current doses began in 1996 and is very effective.

After the two doses of ROR, 99% of people are protected against measles and rubella and 88% are protected from mumps.

The first dose MMR is generally given at 12 months, while the second blow is administered at around three years and four months, before children started primary school.

However, adults and children can have the JAB MMR at any time via their general practitioner.

People who do not eat pork products can ask for another blow called Primex.

If the MMR is not suitable, someone at an immediate risk of capturing measles can have a treatment called human normal immunoglobulin (HNIG).

Most MMR side effects are light but the injection site can be red, painful and swollen for a few days.

Babies and young children can develop a high temperature up to 72 hours.

There is no evidence connecting the ROR vaccine with autism.