The British Medical Association in Wales in Wales is warning that there is an increased possibility of a measles epidemic in schools throughout the country as a result of the falling uptake of MMR vaccinations.

Uptake of MMR in some parts of Wales has fallen to just 77.2 per cent - well below the 95 per cent uptake recommended by the World Health Organisation to avoid outbreaks.

Chairman of the BMA's Welsh GP Committee, Dr Andrew Dearden said: " Having seen a steady decline in the uptake of MMR vaccination across Wales, we now have dangerously low immunisation rates, giving great cause for concern.

"An outbreak of the disease is now almost inevitable. If the number of vaccinated babies drops below 80 per cent, measles can escape into communities and epidemics break out.

"Immunisation is vital to every growing child to make sure the immune system can fight these diseases. For a community of babies to be protected, 95 per cent must be vaccinated.

He added: "Of course parents are worried when they read alarming stories about MMR. GPs respect their patients' rights to come to an individual decision. But I believe that the triple dose MMR is still the best way of protecting children from the potentially quite dreadful effects of measles - and by safeguarding their own child they are helping to protect the whole community and reduce the number of cases of measles, mumps and rubella in Wales."

Measles was once so common in Wales that every parent could instantly recognise the danger signs. Before vaccination, it claimed 90 children a year as victims throughout the UK. But in recent years, the infection has become rare enough that even some GPs have never seen a confirmed case.

Children aged one to four, who have not had the MMR jab, are the most vulnerable, although people of any age can catch measles. Serious complications resulting from measles include ear infections, pneumonia and acute encephalitis - inflammation of the brain - which occurs in one in every 15 cases. Fifteen percent of children who suffer from measles encephalitis will die and 20 to 40 per cent of survivors will suffer from related brain damage.

Government figures confirm the number of measles cases so far this year exceeds the cases recorded for the whole of 2001.

In 2001 measles struck 1,560 people in Dublin. A hundred were taken to hospital and two people died.
 

NOTES

Uptake
Uptake of MMR at two years in Wales dropped to an average of 82.5 per cent.
Iechyd Morgannwg health authority area: 77.2 per cent
Dyfed Powys health authority area: 78.3 per cent


Outbreak of measles in Italy
The Italian health authorities have reported an outbreak of measles in the Campania region in southern Italy. They estimate that there have been 24000 cases of measles in the region between January and May of this year. 13 of the cases have gone on to develop encephalitis, a very serious infection involving inflammation of the brain, and 3 of the cases have died. The highest incidence of cases was amongst 5-9 and 10-14 year old children.

MMR vaccine was introduced in Italy in the 1990s, but uptake has historically been lower than in the UK. National vaccine uptake in 2000 was estimated to be less than 80% at two years of age, and lower than 60% in many areas in the south of the country. The Campania region has an estimated vaccine uptake level of 53% amongst children aged two. This compares to a national figure of 83.8% in the UK.