Measles

(asked on 30th October 2014) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to prevent an upsurge in measles; and what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved administrations on that issue.


Answered by
 Portrait
Jane Ellison
This question was answered on 6th November 2014

In April 2013, following an increase in the number of identified cases of measles in the United Kingdom, the Department, Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England launched a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) catch-up programme, aiming to ensure 95% of all 10-16 year olds had received at least one dose of MMR vaccine by 30 September 2013. This was in addition to the routine childhood MMR vaccination programme, where MMR vaccine is provided to children at the age of 12-13 months and at three years four months of age, or as soon after, to coincide with the other pre-school immunisations.

Latest figures suggest the catch up campaign has had a significant effect on reducing the number of cases of incidence from this disease. Provisional data shows the second quarter of 2014 had 10 cases confirmed, a significant reduction from 434 cases from the same quarter in 2013, before the catch up campaign was initiated. A PHE evaluation study in February 2014 estimated that at mid-point of the campaign, approximately 95% of 10-16 year olds in England have received at least one dose of measles containing vaccine.

Officials in the Department last had discussions on measles with their counterparts in the devolved administrations in June and September 2013 during the 2013 measles outbreak.

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