The number of measles cases in London has risen to 103 — almost double the level for last year.
Figures released today by Public Health England show 29 new confirmed cases for April, with all but three in north London.
There were seven in Haringey, six in Hackney, five in Enfield, three each in Camden and Waltham Forest, and two in Islington. Single cases were also reported in Bromley, Greenwich and Southwark.
This takes the London total since the start of the year to 103, with 36 of the cases in Hackney — almost three times higher than any other borough.
The city-wide total is almost double the 52 reported in the first four months of last year, but health officials insisted that London was “not currently in an outbreak situation”.
The rising number of cases is a legacy of the fall in uptake of the MMR vaccine in the late Nineties and early 2000s when now-discredited research linked it to autism. This has left 900,000 children, many aged 10-16, without any measles protection or having not had two jabs to ensure full protection.
More than 200,000 extra doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine have been ordered by GP practices across the country. In England a total of 288 cases of measles were reported in April, taking the year’s total to 962. Outbreaks have been reported in Swansea and in the North East and North West, with infection rates among the highest since 1994.
In London, vaccination rates fell to 80 per cent in 2005. Dr Yvonne Doyle, Public Health England’s London director, said they aimed to vaccinate 95 per cent of 10- to 16-year-olds at risk in time for the next school year.
