Britain in vaccination warning over measles outbreak
A measles outbreak has affected 800 people in Britain, where up to two million schoolchildren are believed to be unprotected due to a scare which wrongly linked the vaccine with autism. The outbreak is centred on Swansea, in south Wales, but health experts warn there is a risk the virus could spread.
A measles outbreak has affected 800 people in Britain, where up to two million schoolchildren are believed to be unprotected due to a scare which wrongly linked the vaccine with autism.
The outbreak is centred on Swansea, in south Wales, but health experts warn there is a risk the virus could spread.
Since 1996 an average of 550 people contracted the disease each year in Britain, according to Health Protection Agency figures. Last year, there were 2,030 reported cases, a near-20-year high, and this latest epidemic has already infected 808 people.
Health officials pointed the finger at disgraced doctor Andrew Wakefield's 1998 report, which appeared in prestigious medical journal The Lancet, that linked the joint measles, mumps and rubella jab (MMR) with autism. Many parents decided not to have their children immunised as a result.
Children are going to get measles, there is no question, because there is a big group - probably of the order of approaching two million children - who are susceptible who have not been immunised
Helen Bedford, from the University College London Institute of Child Health, said: "Children are going to get measles, there is no question, because there is a big group - probably of the order of approaching two million children - who are susceptible who have not been immunised."