THREE children have been treated in hospital after an outbreak of measles in Greater Manchester.
Youngsters aged one to 17 have been affected by the disease and six cases have been confirmed with laboratory tests in the last week although doctors say more youngsters in north east Manchester and Oldham have been affected.
One of the children is still being treated at Booth Hall Children's Hospital where he is said to be 'stable'. The other two youngsters have been discharged from North Manchester General and the Royal Oldham Hospital and are recovering at home.
Doctors are urging parents to get their children protected by the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine - many parents shunned the jabs in the 1990s after they were linked to autism and bowel problems, but the research has now been widely discredited.
Dr Rosemary McCann, from the Health Protection Agency, said: "These cases prove that it is vitally important for children to have both doses of MMR, which will give life-long protection against measles, mumps and rubella.
"Although we are only aware of a small number of cases at present, with so many unvaccinated children there is a high risk of further spread if we don't take action.
"These are potentially serious illnesses and up to one-in-three children and young people in these areas are not fully immunised and could catch measles.
"We are advising parents that if their child has missed one or both doses of MMR, they should contact their GP to arrange vaccination."
Measles is an infectious virus that is spread when infected people cough or sneeze. The most common symptoms are fever, cough, sore eyes and a rash. Most patients make a full recovery, but some will experience serious complications that can include pneumonia, meningitis and, on rare occasions, death. Children need two doses of MMR vaccine.
Alan Higgins, Director of Public Health for Oldham, said: We know that in Oldham, as in Manchester and other parts of the country, there are a number of children, teenagers and young adults who have not had two doses of MMR vaccine. "We've been offering catch-up clinics for older children for some time and working hard with GPs to make sure that younger children get the vaccinations they need."
The vaccine is usually given to children at around 13 months, with a second dose before they start school. These are the first confirmed cases of measles in Greater Manchester this year.
Last year there were 25 confirmed cases in the region. More than 10,000 children in Cheshire were offered the MMR vaccine in special clinics after more than 100 youngsters in Sandbach, Middlewich and Crewe and surrounding towns were hit by the bug at the end of last year.
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Children hit by measles
March 13, 2009
Showing comments 1 to 8 and replies | View All
Pippa, Manchester (13/03/2009 at 11:47)
Pippa, Manchester (13/03/2009 at 13:51)
A from Chorlton, Chorlton (13/03/2009 at 14:23)
That will answer your question, Pippa.
A from Chorlton, Chorlton (13/03/2009 at 15:25)
There is absolutely no evidence to support the suggestion that allowing single vaccines would
lead to a greater uptake of MMR but there is a significant amount of evidence to show that it would have
the opposite effect. Single vaccines would be less effective than MMR and there is no evidence
that they would be safer.
In other words, offering single vaccines could reduce confidence in the vaccination programme, which
could lead to reduced uptake, putting more people at risk.
andanotherthing, Mcr (13/03/2009 at 15:45)
That is because single vaccination has not been universally offered. there can be no evidence for something that has not happened. However I had very bad measles at seven, in my ears and eyes top to toe. Then rubella at 23 hit me like a brick and took years to fully recover.
Get your children immunised, I advocate the one vaccination but if you choose the individual option JUST DO IT.
Northern Doctor (13/03/2009 at 16:31)
This is the reason single vaccines are not advocated. It also involves giving children 6 jabs rather than 2 and it is more likely some of these will get missed. Making single vaccines over the whole population even less effective. There has been lots of research into MMR over the past few years; none of which has confirmed any of the alleged concerns.
MMR is safe. But due to inaccurate media hype and hysterical coverage confidence has been eroded and we are on the brink of widespread outbreaks of these diseases again. Offering single vaccines on an individual level may seem like a good idea but overall across the country they will make a serious situation even worse.
andanotherthing, Mcr (13/03/2009 at 16:54)
I do hope the message gets through. Children are vastly MORE at risk if individually innoculated. Measles,Mumps and Rhubella sound trite. All have very great risks. We can close this window of opportunity for these diseases.
waywardweastie (14/03/2009 at 03:00)