The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has declared a national incident amid a surge in measles infections in the West Midlands. The agency chief executive, Professor Dame Jenny Harries, says “there is now a very real risk of seeing the virus spread in other towns and cities”.

So what is driving the rise and what are the symptoms to look out for?

FactCheck takes a look.

What is measles and what are the symptoms?

Measles is in an infection that spreads easily through coughing and sneezing.

The infection starts with cold-like symptoms including a high temperature, a runny or blocked nose, sneezing, a cough, and red, sore, watery eyes.

This is then followed by a rash a few days later, which starts on the face and behind the ears before spreading to the rest of the body. The rash looks brown or red on white skin, but may be harder to see on brown and black skin.

Some people may also get small white spots in their mouth, which appear inside the cheeks and on the back of the lips, usually lasting for a few days.

Does measles cause serious illness?

Measles usually starts to get better in about a week, but if it spreads to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or brain, it can lead to serious problems including pneumonia, meningitis, blindness and fits.

These problems are rare, but some people are more at risk, including babies and people with weakened immune systems.

Latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization shows that 136,000 people died worldwide from measles in 2022. In England and Wales, there was one death in 2020 due to late effects of measles, according to the latest statistics.

How many measles cases does the UK have?

There were 1,603 suspected cases of measles in England and Wales in 2023, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), more than double the 735 cases in 2022 and four times higher than in 2021.

And as of 18 January 2024, the West Midlands in particular had 216 confirmed cases of measles and a further 103 cases likely since 1 October 2023.

Around 80 per cent of the cases are in Birmingham and 10 per cent in Coventry, with the majority of cases in children under the age of 10.

Why are measles cases rising?

The UKHSA says the large increase in the West Midlands is being driven by low vaccination rates.

The agency has declared a ‘national incident’, which is used to signal the growing public health risk of measles and allows it to focus on limiting further spread of the infection.

Professor Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of UKHSA, says, “Immediate action is needed to boost MMR uptake across communities where vaccine uptake is low.”

What is the MMR vaccine and are there side effects?

The measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is offered to all children in the UK, with two doses giving 99 per cent protection against measles and rubella. (The UKHSA says it provides “slightly lower” protection against mumps, but reduces the severity of this disease if it’s caught.)

The NHS notes the MMR vaccine is “very safe”, with most side effects being mild and not lasting long. They can include the area where the needle goes in looking red, swollen and feeling sore for a few days, and around seven to 11 days after the injection, babies or young children may feel slightly unwell or develop a high temperature for a few days.

Two rare side effects are associated with the MMR vaccine.

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) affects 1 in 24,000 doses, according to the NHS. In children, it looks like a “small rash of bruise-like spots” and appears around two weeks after the jab.

The NHS explains: “ITP usually gets better without treatment but, as with any rash, you should get advice from your GP as soon as possible”.

There is also a “small chance of having a seizure (fit) 6 to 11 days after the MMR vaccine” the NHS says. This happens in “about 1 in every 1,000 doses”, though the health service notes that seizures linked to the MMR vaccine are “less frequent than seizures that happen as a direct result of a measles infection”.

The NHS is clear: “there’s no evidence of any link between the MMR vaccine and autism. There are many studies that have investigated this.”

Does the MMR vaccine contain pork products?

The main ingredient of the MMR vaccine is a small amount of weakened measles, mumps and rubella viruses. One of the vaccines available here, MMRVaxPro, also contains pork gelatine.

However, there is another vaccine available in the UK – Priorix – which does not contain pork gelatine and is as safe and effective as the alternative.

Parents can ask their GP to use the Priorix vaccine if they want to avoid pork products.

(Image Credit: Francis R Malasig/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)