Liverpool’s director of public health believes MMR rates could be as low as 50% in some parts of the city
Measles is spiking in Liverpool and Merseyside (Image: Natalya Maisheva via Getty Images)
There are fears that measles infections could rip through some communities in Liverpool, where health chiefs believe as many as half of children may not be fully vaccinated against the disease. Merseyside is experiencing a spike in children suffering with measles, with Alder Hey reporting at least 17 patients with the infection in the hospital in recent weeks.
This means the number of cases in the community is likely to be much higher and the danger of measles was tragically highlighted this weekend as it was reported that a child with the infection had died at Alder Hey.
The Liverpool-based children’s hospital has issued a warning about the worrying rise in cases in the city and the wider region and said a number of children have been “seriously unwell” in their care because of it.
In Liverpool, the take-up of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is worryingly low, with around 74% of children having both doses. The World Health Organisation suggests this number needs to be around 95% for herd immunity to be achieved.
Liverpool’s director of public health, Matthew Ashton, told the ECHO he is very concerned about the spread of measles in the city and believes in some parts of the city, vaccination rates will be even lower – which could lead to a public health crisis.
Professor Ashton said: “I am frustrated by our low MMR uptake. I think there are some specific reasons for it and it is not about blaming individuals.
“This is about how do we create the right conditions to make MMR uptake as high as possible in the city. But the starting point is that measles is a very nasty virus and it can do significant harm and the MMR vaccine, which has been around for over 50 years, is this is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from harm.
“It is entirely safe, it is easily and freely available and is the best way to protect yourself from a very nasty virus. The reality is our uptake for MMR in the city is much lower than it needs to be at 74%.
Liverpool’s Director of Public Health Matt Ashton(Image: Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)
“The World Health Organisation recommends a target of 95% of people having both doses, which gives you herd immunity and to stop the spread, so obviously we are way back at 74% and there will be parts of the city that have much lower uptake than that – even below 50% in some areas.
“So more than 50% of kids in those areas will be unprotected. Now this really matters because if measles gets into those communities, there is the potential for very rapid spread of the virus, so we could see large scale outbreaks.”
Professor Ashton added: “So in a population of 1,000 kids, you could have more than 200 kids with measles at any one point. This then becomes a very significant outbreak and requires a huge amount of work, diverting healthcare resources from elsewhere into addressing the outbreak, when they should be focussed on other healthcare needs in the city.
“This has other impacts too, such as putting people out of action, unable to pay their bills. It impacts on the whole city and how it runs.”
Speaking about the infection itself, he added: “We know measles is a very nasty virus. It can cause significant harm in our community, particularly amongst those who are unprotected. One person with measles can go on to infect up to 15 others and it is transmissible for a period of up to 10 days.
“So it’s not just that its highly infectious, but it is highly infectious over a relatively long period of time.
“We know that measles can do significant harm to people. It is nasty virus, particularly for the very young, for pregnant women and for those with vulnerabilities or underlying health conditions.
“Anybody can catch measles at any age and if you are not protected it can do you harm. For certain people there is the potential for it to do significant harm and it can lead to fatalities.”