England has seen a rise in measles cases (Picture: Metro.co.uk / Getty Images)
The areas of England with the most number of measles cases have been revealed after a recent outbreak.
Children and adults across the country have contracted the highly contagious infection which can cause severe complications if left untreated.
Leicester became the latest city to confirm a spike in cases with a school pupil and a university student struck down with the illness.
Serious health problems that can develop from measles include pneumonia, meningitis and on rare occasions, long-term disability or death.
Symptoms include a blotchy red-brown rash, high fever and sore red watery eyes – it is particularly easy to catch in environments when in close contact with others.
According to the most recent government data available, there have been 149 laboratory confirmed measles cases in England this year.
London is the worst-hit region with 89 recorded cases between January and September.
Measles can cause a bad rash (Picture: Shutterstock)
Of those, 58 have affected children aged 14 and under, including 16 babies aged less than one, 17 children aged one to four, and 18 aged 11 to 14.
The next most infected area by measles is the south east where 14 cases have been confirmed in 2023 so far, with more than half recorded in children aged under 10.
Yorkshire has recorded 11 cases, the east of England nine and the south west eight.
How do measles spread?
How does the virus go from child to child?
The measles virus is contained in tiny droplets that come out of the nose and mouth when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
You can easily catch measles by breathing in these droplets. Or, if the droplets have settled on a surface, by touching the surface and then placing your hands near your nose or mouth. The virus can survive on surfaces for a few hours.
People with measles are infectious from when the symptoms develop until about four days after the rash first appears.
Measles cases in England – area by area
Take a look at the number of measles cases recorded in each region of England – and how many cases have been detected in each age range.
The number of cases for each age range is shown in brackets – if an age range does not appear, it means zero infections have been recorded for that demographic.
London – 89 cases: Aged less than 1 (16), 1-4 (17), 5-10 (18), 11-14 (7), 15-19 (8), 20-24 (1), 25-29 (9), 30-34 (4), 35+ (9)
South East – 14 cases: Aged less than 1 (2), 1-4 (4), 5-10 (3), 15-19 (1), 20-24 (1), 25-29 (1), 35+ (2)
Yorkshire – 11 cases: Aged less than 1 (2), 5-10 (2), 15-19 (1), 20-24 (1), 25-29 (1), 30-34 (2), 35+ (2)
East of England – 9 cases: Aged 1-4 (3), 5-10 (2), 11-14 (1), 25-29 (2), 35+ (1)
South West – 8 cases: Aged less than 1 (1), 1-4 (1), 5-10 (1), 11-14 (1), 15-19 (2), 25-29 (1), 35+ (1)
North West – 7 cases: Aged 1-4 (5), 5-10 (2)
North East – 4 cases: Aged 1-4 (1), 5-10 (1), 35+ (2)
East Midlands – 4 cases: Aged less than 1 (1), 11-14 (1), 15-19 (1), 20-24 (1)
West Midlands – 3 cases: Aged 1-4 (1), 5-10 (2)
Children tend to contract measles more than adults (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said: ‘Around 1 in 5 of the cases were imported, possible imports or import related, while the rest reflect community transmission in England.’
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Earlier this year, the UKHSA also published a measles risk assessment.
It concluded although the risk of a UK-wide epidemic is low, an outbreak of between 40,000 to 160,000 cases could occur in London.
This is due to sub-optimal uptake of the MMR vaccine in London. The capital has seen eight positive tests so far over the last week alone.
Symptoms parents should watch out for
The first symptoms of measles develop around 10 days after you’re infected. These can include:
cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, sneezing, and a cough
sore, red eyes that may be sensitive to light
watery eyes
swollen eyes
a high temperature (fever), which may reach around 40°C (104°F)
small greyish-white spots in the mouth
aches and pains
loss of appetite
tiredness, irritability and a general lack of energy
The measles rash appears around 2 to 4 days after the initial symptoms and normally fades after about a week. The rash:
is made up of small red-brown, flat or slightly raised spots that may join together into larger blotchy patches
usually first appears on the head or neck, before spreading outwards to the rest of the body
is slightly itchy for some people
Advice and information taken from NHS England
By comparison, there were only two cases of measles in England in 2021 and 79 in 2020.
The worst years for measles in England over the last decade were in 2018 when 968 cases were recorded and 2013 when 1,414 people were infected.
In the last 27 years, 2012 saw the highest number of confirmed cases with 1,920.
Leicester’s director of public health, Rob Howard, has urged parents to make sure their children have had MMR jabs.
‘The best way to protect yourself and your family is to have the MMR vaccination,’ he said.
‘Anyone who hasn’t already had two doses should contact their GP surgery for an appointment to get vaccinated.’
There have been 11 deaths in England and Wales caused by measles since 2016, according to the Office for National Statistics; one in 2020, five in 2019, three in 2018, one in 2017 and one in 2016.
Four of those who died were children and the other seven were adults.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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