4 days ago
Parents issued urgent measles warning after child dies from 'eliminated' disease
The World Health Organisation declared that the UK had eliminated the illness in 2017 but outbreaks still occur.
Parents have been warned about measles after a child died from the deadly disease last week. The World Health Organisation declared that the UK had eliminated the illness in 2017 but outbreaks still occur..
According to the UK Health Security Agency, elimination means that the disease is no longer native to the UK, but it doesn't mean that it has disappeared entirely.
Vaccination rates have been on the decline in recent years, and this could prove fatal to kids following the recent death at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. Experts fear measles could "spread like wildfire" in Merseyside and potentially beyond.
There are at least 17 patients with the disease at Alder Hey, according to the Liverpool ECHO, which means cases in the community are likely to be much higher.
The UKHSA reports that there have been 529 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England in 2025, an increase of 109 cases since the last report in June 2025.
More than two thirds of these were in children aged 10 and under, so there are increased fears about measles continuing to afflict children across the UK.
And, in the midst of this surge in cases, one expert has urged parents to keep an important health device with them wherever they go.
Abbas Kanani MRPharmS, superintendent pharmacist at Chemist Click, has told mums and dads of kids with asthma to keep an inhaler handy at all times.
He said: "Parents should carry an inhaler in case of asthma attack [because] the respiratory and intestinal tracts are the most affected sites in measles-infected children."
With the vaccination rates of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine "worryingly low" in some parts of the UK, this is crucial. The latest figures from the House of Commons Library's Child Immunisation Statistics show Scotland has the best MMR coverage by age five.
But across the UK, immunisation rates have fallen in recent years and nowhere is currently meeting the 95 per cent target for two MMR jags by age five, which is recommended by the WHO to achieve and maintain measles elimination.
Measles is an extremely contagious infection that is caused by a virus. For some people, they will get better on their own, but others may get seriously unwell.
Symptoms include:
cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, sneezing and a cough
sore, red eyes that may be sensitive to light
a high temperature (fever), which may reach around 40C
small greyish-white spots on the inside of the cheeks
Measles spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes, with others being affected by the airborne virus particles.
To reduce the risk of spreading or catching it, people should wash their hands regularly with soap and warm water. If you are sneezing and coughing, use tissues and then bin them.
The best method to prevent measles is by having the MMR vaccine. And Mr Kanani has urged parents to take up any offers for the jab.
He said: "The MMR vaccine is offered to all children in the UK, two doses can give lifelong protection against measles, mumps, and rubella".
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