Shropshire continues to respond to national MMR Catch-up campaign
Shropshire’s Public Health continues to respond to Public Health England’s (PHE) MMR Catch-up Campaign to encourage parents and carers to ensure their children are protected against measles.
Following last week’s publication of current data by PHE West Midlands, as part of the national MMR catch-up programme, figures show a further 18 cases of the preventable, infectious disease in April, on top of 20 cases from January to March this year. In Shropshire 5 cases were confirmed in April totalling a number of 10 confirmed cases since January this year.
With the school holidays fast approaching, Shropshire Council’s Public Health Team along with Shropshire’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) want to also highlight the campaign to families who may be going abroad and for those whose children starting nursery or school in the new term.
The catch-up programme, run by PHE, NHS England, the Department of Health and local authorities, aims to prevent measles outbreaks in particularly by giving MMR to as many unvaccinated and partially vaccinated 10-16 year olds as possible.
This age group are most at risk of measles due to the fall in coverage of MMR that occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s when concern around the discredited link between autism and the vaccine was widespread. Today MMR coverage among five year olds in England is at its highest recorded levels, with 94 per cent receiving one dose and 90 per cent receiving two doses.
The national catch-up programme to increase MMR vaccination uptake in children and teenagers has so far resulted in more than 95 per cent of GP practices across England ordering extra doses of the vaccine – over 200,000 extra in total.
Dr Caron Morton, Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s Accountable Officer, said;
“Practices across the county have the capacity to give vaccinations to those who need them. It’s really important that people take steps to safeguard their children against the spread of measles as the summer holidays approach and further cases are reported.”
Councillor Karen Calder Cabinet Member for Health at Shropshire Council said;
“Although current figures show only a handful of new cases in Shropshire and that we’ve seen an increase in people coming forward to have their child vaccinated throughout the county, we still cannot be complacent. I would really encourage parents and carers of both young and older children to ensure their child receives their MMR vaccination in particularly if they are going abroad during the summer holiday. Not only will the MMR immunisation protect them from any imminent risk of measles, but also mumps and rubella.”
If you are not sure if your child has had two doses of MMR vaccine, please check with your GP Practice and they will be able to tell you.
For more information on measles visit http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Measles/Pages/Introduction.aspx
You can visit the Public Health website at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england
Further information
Current data released by PHE West Midlands shows in England there were 288 cases in April, up from 175 in April 2012, bringing the total number so far in 2013 to 962. This continues the trend seen since early 2012 with monthly totals around the highest recorded levels seen since 1994. The regions most affected continue to be the North West and North East, but cases have been reported across all regions in England.
In line with trends across the country, the number of cases of measles has continued to rise in the West Midlands. Up to the end of April, 38 cases were confirmed, following a total of 127 cases in 2012.
The catch-up programme aims to ensure that at least 95 per cent of 10-16 year olds have received at least one dose of MMR. This is estimated to be around 300,000 children (eight per cent). The programme is also keen to reach another 300,000 plus in this age group, who need a second dose of MMR to give them full protection, along with a further 300,000 plus children below and above this age band that need another dose; around one million children in total.
Dr Sue Ibbotson, PHE West Midlands Centre director, said: “Our ambition is to vaccinate 95 per cent of 10-16 year olds at risk in time for the next school year and the number of extra doses ordered by so many GP practices is very encouraging.
“Local public health teams have been working hard to encourage uptake with children and teenagers in the West Midlands. The message to parents who think their child may not be fully immunised is to check today and book an appointment with your GP. The vaccine is there waiting to be used and could save your child’s life. Measles is a serious illness and can lead to acute complications, including hospitalisation in more than one in five cases among teens this year.
“We are getting regular feedback from the local NHS teams about what is happening on the ground and are encouraged by the very high levels of involvement by GP practices across the West Midlands. We will shortly be getting results from a new monitoring system that will tell us the number of vaccines given to children.
“We are continuing to work closely with NHS partners to ensure we have accurate records of children who have missed vaccination, to help guide effective local decision making about possible additional targeted activity.”
