Measles cases decline as MMR catch-up programme continues

Measles

Cases of measles in Greater Manchester fell during June, with 36 confirmed cases. This is down from 49 cases in May and follows the nationwide rollout of the national MMR catch-up programme. Across England as a whole, there were 113 cases in June, compared to 193 for May. In Rochdale there was only one confirmed case in January followed by a four month period of no cases.

The catch-up programme, run by Public Health England, NHS England, the Department of Health, and local authorities, aims to prevent measles outbreaks by giving MMR to as many unvaccinated and partially vaccinated 10-16 year olds as possible.

Progress in the campaign has been monitored using data on the MMR status of children aged between 10 and 16 years old, gathered from around 2,000 general practices in July 2013.

When compared with similar aged children in 2012, the numbers point to almost 60,000 previously unvaccinated children having now had one dose in England. Additionally, a slightly higher number have now completed the two dose course.

Professor Martyn Regan, Greater Manchester Centre Director said: “While it’s too early to say the MMR catch-up campaign is responsible for the declining number of measles cases, we can say definitively that children who have not had the MMR vaccine remain at high risk of catching the disease.

“We are making good progress towards the 95 percent target, but there still remains a number of 10-16 year olds within the Greater Manchester area, together with some younger children and adults who are under-vaccinated.

“We’d urge parents of children that haven’t had the MMR vaccine to contact their GP and get them vaccinated.” 

Screening and Immunisation teams in each of the 25 NHS Area Teams across England are reinforcing work done so far by general practices to sustain the MMR catch-up, and to plan for additional efforts to identify pockets of remaining unvaccinated children in the target age range.

The next phase of the catch-up programme involves each Area Team planning activity appropriate to their area. These plans will be based on local intelligence around MMR coverage in their communities, with interventions based on an assessment of their likely effectiveness in their locality.

Longer term plans for the elimination of the sustained transmission of measles will involve improving and sustaining the high coverage of MMR for younger children, and also implementing routine catch-up opportunities for older children – for example when changing schools or receiving other teenage booster vaccinations. This aims to ensure a long lasting legacy for future children and ensure that the catch up programme is not just a short term fix.