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A WARNING that GPs in an MMR blackspot area are
gearing themselves up for an outbreak of measles was dismissed yesterday
as "scare tactics."
Swansea mother Natalie Bowden, who is campaigning
for parents to have the choice between the measles, mumps and rubella
vaccination and a single jab, said, "They have been saying there will be
an outbreak for five years and nothing has happened yet.
"My own view, as a mother, is that these are
nothing more than scare tactics."
But GPs insist there is cause for concern after the
latest vaccination figures show the uptake for the controversial MMR
vaccine in Neath Port Talbot and Swansea is now the lowest in Wales with
only 72% of children being immunised by their second birthday compared
with 84% nationally.
This compares with other areas such as Bridgend and
Ceredigion, where the take up is 87%, and North Wales, where it is 84%.
The highest is Cardiff and the Vale, at 89%, while the lowest after
Swansea and Port Talbot was Carmarthenshire, at 79.8%.
Neath Port Talbot Local Health Group has been told
there is a "sig-nificant risk" of cases of measles occurring.
Dr Sara Hayes, consultant in public health, said,
"Until now the historically high levels of immunisation in Swansea and
Neath Port Talbot have kept the incidence of infectious childhood
diseases at bay. But as the level of MMR has been falling, young
children are now very much at risk.
"With the current levels of vaccination as they
are, people must accept that it is increasingly likely that there will
be individual cases and possibly outbreaks of measles, mumps and rubella
over the winter season."
Dr Andy Muir, a local GP and board member, added,
"The consequences of an outbreak will be significant not least due to
the fact that many GPs will never have seen a case of the disease and
not recognise it in the early stages. This could mean that hospital
services will become overwhelmed."
Dr Mac Walapu, consultant in public health for
Dyfed Powys Health Authority, agrees there will be an outbreak of
measles "at some point in the future" because vaccine uptake rates need
to be at least 95% to prevent it occurring.
Last year there were four recorded cases of measles
in Wales, a 400% increase on 2000, according to figures from the Public
Health Laboratory Service. The number of cases of measles has risen
steadily in the last five years as the MMR uptake rate has fallen.
Linda Fitchett, a health visitor in Neath Port
Talbot, emphasised the need for anyone who had concerns about the
childhood vaccination to speak to their health visitor or GP, saying,
"It is important to under-stand the concerns of local people - but it is
also essential that they have good information and understand the risks.
"The low level of MMR uptake is a real concern,
particularly with the low coverage of young children now entering formal
education."
And Dr Walapu added, "We would encourage all
parents who have not yet had their children vaccinated with the MMR
vaccine to do so, particularly in Llanelli where the uptake rate is the
lowest in our area."
But a sceptical Mrs Bowden said, "If they want to
get the figures back up there is a simple solution - give parents a
choice and access to a choice. As things are parents have voted with
their feet and shown they do not want MMR."
Mrs Bowden admitted there was always the
possibility of an outbreak but she said, "They are only recording the
number of cases who have had MMR and are not recording the children who
have just had the single jab.
"As a result children could well be protected
against measles - and this could be why we have not had an outbreak.
They do not register those children who have had the single jab because
they do not recognise it which is really stupid.
"If they did a realistic statistic then it could be
as high as 90%. This is why I say their figures are part of scare
tactics."
Morgannwg Health Authority is working with the
area's NHS Trusts and councils to ensure that local services will be
able to respond to any outbreak. Training events for GPs, hospital
doctors and nurses have been held throughout the health authority
district, which extends from Swansea to Bridgend, to raise awareness
about these illnesses. |