Measles outbreak in London with see health leaders join emergency meeting in the capital tomorrow amid fears it could spread nationwide and cause deaths
Children not vaccinated against measles could be sent home from school if there is an outbreak locally.
An emergency meeting of health leaders will be held in London on Monday over an “unprecedented” outbreak in the capital which has already seen un-jabbed kids told not to come to school in the borough of Enfield. It follows warnings that the outbreak, which has seen 100 confirmed measles cases in north London this year, could spread nationwide and lead to deaths of children. The real number of London cases is thought to be higher.
The policy in London around excluding unvaccinated pupils could become a blueprint for other cities where outbreaks occur after UK vaccination rates plummeted in the last decade.
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The extraordinary general meeting of the London Assembly will be chaired by health committee lead Emma Best, who told the Mirror: “We’re looking at this in London but the whole of the UK should be watching now. The first thing to say about measles is the level of contagion. It can appear as a cold or a runny nose at first so parents can still send their children into school with it so it has spread very quickly.
“We think it’s alien that people can die from measles but over 100,000 people a year die from it globally. For many people it is a mild infection like the common cold but for some people it will be fatal.”
She added: “In Enfield they made a decision to send pupils home who were unvaccinated. The rest of the country needs to have such procedures in place so we’re not arguing about it when it happens. Every other UK city needs to be looking at this.”
Measles is one of the most infectious diseases. It is spread through the air or water droplets, breathed, coughed or sneezed by infected people. They are infectious from when the first symptoms appear until four days after the rash appears.
In rare cases measles can lead to death or disabilities such as blindness, deafness and lifelong thinking problems caused by dangerous swelling of the brain. In Western Europe measles still causes death in about 1 in 5,000 cases.
Coverage of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine started to decline following a 1998 report by Andrew Wakefield which falsely linked the jab with autism. Even though the claim was discredited, and Wakefield struck off the medical register, the vaccination programme took years to recover.
Earlier this year the World Health Organisation confirmed that measles had officially re-established itself in the UK from 2024. Countries are awarded measles elimination status by the global health body when vaccine coverage is over 95% required to achieve herd immunity. The UK was considered to have eliminated the disease from 2021 to 2023 before vaccination rates dropped off. UK rates are now the lowest in over a decade.
The latest figures for England from the UKHSA show that in 2024/25 some 91.9% of five-year-olds had received one dose of the MMR vaccine, unchanged from 2023/24 and the lowest level since 2010/11. Just 83.7% of five-year-olds had received both MMR doses, down year-on-year from 83.9% and the lowest level since 2009/10.
The measures in London of sending pupils home will be discussed at the extraordinary meeting at the London Assembly on Monday attended by leaders from the UK Health Security Agency.
Ms Best said: “The steps that were taken, if they are found to have worked, then that is what every city could be looking to put in place. Nationwide everyone should be looking at this.”
The Mirror has reported how other local councils have issued warnings to parents who have been told to check whether their child has been given the vaccine. Southend City Council said cases are rising and are “likely to reach Essex, Southend and Thurrock”.
NHS advice for anyone who thinks they may have measles is to stay at home and call their GP for an urgent appointment or NHS 111. This reduces the risk of measles being spread to vulnerable people, such as young babies, people who are pregnant, and those with weakened immune systems.
