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Measles

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has declared a national incident. This means cases of measles are on the rise in England and there is a growing public health risk. Measles is a highly infectious disease and spreads very easily among those who are not vaccinated, especially in nurseries and schools. Measles can be a very unpleasant illness and in some children can be very serious, leading to hospitalisation and tragically even death in rare cases. People in certain at-risk groups including babies and young children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immunity, are at increased risk of complications from measles.

There’s no specific medical treatment for measles, so it’s important to get the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine as it’s the best protection against becoming seriously unwell. The MMR vaccine is free for everyone at any age, and is a safe and effective way of protecting against measles, as well as mumps and rubella. Having 2 doses of the MMR vaccine will give lifelong protection. Over 99% of those who have 2 doses of the MMR vaccine will be protected against measles and rubella, and the vaccine also protects against mumps.

MMR vaccine is one of the routine childhood vaccinations, so most children are already vaccinated against measles. If your child has received both doses of the vaccine, they are unlikely to have the virus.

Who can get the vaccine?

We urge parents whose children missed out, or anyone of any age who has not yet had two MMR vaccines, to come forward and get vaccinated. It's never too late to catch up.

Speak to your GP practice if you need to check if you or your child are fully vaccinated, or to arrange to have it done

Further information

Measles information posters

(These PDFs are not fully accessible and may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. See: Accessibility statement for documents published on Bury Council website).