Cheshire Eng.: Measles cases

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Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/7697269.stm

Fears rise over measles outbreak

The North West of England could be on the verge of a measles epidemic, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) says.

Twenty-two children have been diagnosed with the illness following an outbreak in parts of Cheshire, the third in the region in 2008.

Health officials are urging parents to ensure children get two doses of the MMR vaccine to stop further outbreaks.

Eight confirmed cases in Trafford over the summer were followed by a further 89 in Blackpool, Lancashire.

Dr Rosemary McCann, HPS immunisation lead, said: "We are on the cusp of a measles epidemic and we must do all we can to head it off by encouraging parents to immunise their children."

'Further outbreaks'

In the latest outbreak, children aged between one and 12 have been struck down by the illness, with one requiring hospital treatment.

Seven of the cases - in Middlewich, Sandbach, Congleton and Crewe - have been diagnosed by laboratory tests. Further results are awaited.

Dr Sam Ghebrehewet, of the HPA Cheshire and Merseyside unit, said it was important to increase MMR vaccine uptake rates.

"It's worrying that we potentially have 22 cases of measles in Cheshire and my fear is that we will see further outbreaks, here and elsewhere in the region," said the doctor.

Anyone with concerns about measles or the MMR campaign should consult their doctor, the HPA said.

 

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Re: Cheshire Eng.: Measles cases

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/7705773.stm

Fears after city (Liverpool) measles outbreak

Health officials in Liverpool are investigating eight reported cases of measles, prompting new fears of an epidemic in the region.

Three of the cases in the outbreak - the fourth in the north west of England in 2008 - have been confirmed by laboratory tests.
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said an unusual feature was that two of the cases were unrelated adults.

Officials are also still investigating 22 cases in Cheshire.

Earlier in 2008, eight cases were confirmed in Trafford, Greater Manchester and 89 in Blackpool, Lancashire.

'Potential to kill'

After the latest outbreak, the HPA's immunisation lead Dr Rosemary McCann said the region was on "the cusp of an epidimic".

The HPA in the north west is urging parents to ensure children get two doses of the MMR vaccine to stop further outbreaks.

Liverpool Primary Care Trust (PCT) said it was working closely with the agency to ensure people who needed vaccinations could get them promptly.

Dr Roberto Vivancos, of the Merseyside Health Protection Unit, said: "This is the fourth measles outbreak in this region in a matter of months.

"Measles has the potential to cause serious complications, such as meningitis and encephalitis. On rare occasions it can kill.

"The only sure way for a young person to avoid measles is to have two doses of MMR vaccine, preferably by age five, but at any age up to 18 if people have been previously unvaccinated."

 

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Re: Cheshire Eng.: Measles cases

Source: http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/nor...-north-measles-outbreak-claim-79310-22212864/


Anger at North Measles outbreak claim

Nov 9 2008 by Chris Knox, Sunday Sun

A CHARITY boss has accused a private health firm of drumming up business by sending letters to parents warning them of a measles scare.

Direct Health 2000 has written to parents, warning of a supposed outbreak of measles in Newcastle and four other UK cities, saying it is ?imperative? parents on their books bring children in for measles booster jabs.

The Kent-based company charges ?600 for its services . . . ?100 each for separate measles, mumps and rubella, and a further ?100 each for a booster jab.

Their letter claims the Health Protection Agency ? HPA ? had recently written to parents, urging ?everyone to have a measles booster? because of numerous outbreaks . . . but the HPA deny any such outbreak.

A spokeswoman from the Health Protection Agency said: ?There is not currently an outbreak of measles in Newcastle, but we can confirm that there has been a significant increase in the number of cases of measles in other parts of the country.

Their figures show there have been 11 reported cases of measles in the North so far this year, compared with 15 in 2007, with no evidence of any current cases being linked together, which normally indicates an outbreak.

This is in stark contrast to London, where there were 559 confirmed cases between January and August this year. Barbara Gubbins, chief executive of leading health charity The Children?s Foundation, said: ?There is no measles outbreak in the North East that I know of.

?I would say that, if these claims are incorrect, Direct Health is being very irresponsible by sending out these letters, particularly if they are using them as a financial tool.?

A worried parent, from Durham, who received the letter, said: ?Although it might be true that cases are up in other parts of the country, to use the word outbreak in relation to Newcastle is not on.?

It is not the first time that the Kent-based health company, which has a clinic in Seaton Burn, Newcastle, has caused alarm. Two years ago it turned away parents who had paid hundreds of pounds for their children?s MMR jabs after two batches of the vaccine were accidentally frozen, making them ineffective.

The Health Protection Agency wrote to parents of children under the age of five within the Tyne and Wear area to invite them to receive a second MMR combined vaccination to bolster immunity against primarily the measles virus.

A spokesman for Direct Health said: ?It was an oversight on our part to use the term ?outbreak? in this way and we have amended this for future correspondence.?

 

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Re: Cheshire Eng.: Measles cases

Source: http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/blackpoolnews/Measles-cases-drop-on-the.4803228.jp

Thursday, 18th December 2008
Measles cases drop on the Fylde

MEASLES cases in the area have dropped dramatically just six months after an outbreak of the disease in Blackpool.

There has been just one case of measles in the resort in the last three months ? compared to 27 in June and July.

Low uptake of the MMR jab ? which protects against measles, mumps and rubella ? has been blamed for the summer outbreak but health bosses targeted parents who had not had their children vaccinated.

During the outbreak in June chiefs at NHS Blackpool sent out letters to parents with children under the age of 11 who had not been immunised.

Letters were then sent to the parents of 18-year-olds who had not been vaccinated.

Director of public health for NHS Blackpool, Dr Aris Rajpura, said: "I think people forget children's diseases are dangerous and measles can be a very serious illness and we need to take it seriously.

"My aim is for every child in Blackpool to get vaccinated."

Schools in the resort worked closely with NHS Blackpool to promote the MMR immunisations.

Mark Gray, headteacher of Waterloo Road Primary School in South Shore, said: "I know it is down to the parents but I think it shouldn't be a debate. Children should be immunised."

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced that at the end of October the North West had 107 confirmed measles cases, the highest in the UK outside of London.

The HPA's North West Immunisation lead, Dr Rosemary McCann, said: "Britain is on a cusp of a measles epidemic because a large cohort of children and teenagers missed out on MMR vaccinations and measles is now spreading among them."

Government recommendations say every Primary Care Trust (PCT) in the country has to have a 95 per cent uptake of the jabs.

The MMR vaccine was dogged by controversy when it was claimed there was a link between the vaccination and autism, which has now been disproved.