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February 4, 2002

 

 

"Measles Outbreak Raises Fears Over Parents Shunning MMR Vaccine"

Guardian Unlimited  (UK) (www.guardian.co.uk) (02/02/02) P. 5;

Meikle, James

 

A recent outbreak of measles in London has increased concerns

that many parents are not permitting their children to receive

the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine.  So far, three

children are known to have contracted the disease, and another 22

are currently being tested for it.   Uptake of the MMR vaccine in

London is only 73.4 percent, compared with a  national uptake

rate of 84.2 percent.   Both are well below the 95 percent uptake

necessary to provide "herd immunity."   According to the Health

Department, parents who refuse to have their children immunized

are not only placing their own children at risk, but they are

also placing other children at risk, particularly those children

who are under the age at which the MMR vaccine is normally given.

In 2001, there were 2,466 suspected cases of measles in Wales and

England, of which 74 were confirmed.

 

 

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