AN URGENT warning has been issued to patients who visited a city’s A&E department as they may have been exposed to measles.
The trust that runs University Hospital of North Durham (UHND) urged anyone who attended on May 24 to look out for symptoms.
GoogleThe trust that runs University Hospital of North Durham (UHND) issued the warning[/caption]
Red rash spots are one of the unwanted effects of measles
People who attended between 9pm and midnight may have been exposed to the infection.
A spokesman for County Durham and Darlington’s NHS trust said: “You (and anyone with you) may have had contact with a person who had measles.
“This means that if you (or your child if they were with you) are not fully vaccinated against measles with two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, you or your child may be at risk of developing measles.”
The trust added: “You should speak to your GP or NHS 111 if you or your child get a high temperature with a cough, runny nose, sore red eyes or rash in the 3 weeks after attending the A&E at UHND at the same time as someone with measles.
“You should try to call your GP or NHS 111 before visiting them in person. This is to avoid spreading measles to others.
“Tell your doctor that you or your child attended the department between 21.00hrs and midnight on 24th May 2024 and that you may therefore have been in contact with someone who has measles.
“It can be difficult to know when to seek help if your child is unwell. If you are worried about your child, especially if they are aged under 2 years old, then you should seek medical help.”
Measles infects the body through the respiratory tract, before spreading to cause a fever, cough and trademark rash.
A red blotch first appears on the forehead, before spots rear their ugly heads all over the skin and inside the mouth.
The dreaded infection is considered highly contagious.
The scare comes with new measles cases surfacing around the country.
As of April, the total number of cases since 1 October 2023 was 1,109, according to government data.
A burst in cases towards the end of 2023 was driven by an breakout in Birmingham, with that now stabilising.
The West Midlands has accounted for nearly half of all cases since October.
Expert answers MMR questions
TO help deal with parental concerns, Professor Helen Bedford, a specialist in child public health at University College London, tells you all you need to know about the MMR vaccine.
When is the vaccine given?
The MMR vaccine is part of the NHS Routine Childhood Immunisation Programme.
It’s typically given via a single shot into the muscle of the thigh or the upper arm.
The first dose is offered to children at the age of one (babies younger than this may have some protection from antibodies passed on from their mother, which start to wear off at about 12 months.)
The second dose is then offered to children aged three years and four months before they start school.
To check to see if you or your child have had the recommended two doses of MMR, you can look at their/your Personal Child Health Record, also known as the red book.
If you can’t find the red book, call your GP and ask them for your vaccine records.
You are never too old to catch up with your MMR vaccine.
If you see from your vaccination records that you did not receive two doses as a child, you can book a vaccination appointment.
Is the vaccine safe?
The MMR vaccine is safe and effective at preventing measles, mumps and rubella.
In the UK, we started using the jab in 1988, so we have decades of experience using it.
The jab is made from much-weakened live versions of the three viruses.
This triggers the immune system to produce antibodies that are protective in the face of future exposure.
It takes up to three weeks after having the vaccine to be fully protected.
Like any vaccine, the MMR jab can cause side-effects, which are usually mild and go away very quickly.
This includes rash, high temperature, loss of appetite and a general feeling of being unwell for about two or three days.
There is also a very small chance children can have a severe allergic reaction.
But compared to the complications of measles, there is no contest that vaccination is by far the safest and most effective route to take.
Why was it linked with autism?
In 1998, Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues published a now-discredited paper in medical journal The Lancet.
The paper suggested that the MMR vaccine might be associated with autism and a form of bowel disease.
It led to a sharp decline in vaccination rates.
Even at the time, the research was considered poor.
The Lancet retracted the story in 2010 after Wakefield’s article was found “dishonest” by the General Medical Council.
He was later struck off and subsequently, in 2011, the British Medical Journal declared the story fraudulent.
Does it contain ingredients from pigs?
There are two types of MMR jabs: One with gelatin (animal/pig collagen), and one without it.
For some religious groups, the inclusion of pig products is not acceptable.
Those people should ask for the vaccine without gelatin.
But now the government is concerned of cases rising in London.
In the four weeks following March 18, 40 per cent of cases were in the nation’s capital, with the West Midlands in second at 25 per cent.
Around 12 per cent of cases were recorded in the East Midlands.
Most (63 per cent) contracting the infection are kids aged under 10.
Vaccine rates and rising cases
The UK was declared measles-free in 2017 but lost that status in 2018 as a drop in vaccination rates allowed for a resurgence of the virus across Europe.
Only 84 per cent of kids have had both MMR vaccine doses by age five; this figure needs to be above 90 per cent to stop outbreaks.
There were 1,603 suspected cases of measles in England and Wales in 2023, a sharp increase from 735 cases in 2022 and 360 in 2021.
Since January, the NHS, UKHSA and local authorities have been urging millions of parents and carers to book their children in for missed MMR vaccinations.
Between January 1 and March 24, there were a total of 360,964 MMR vaccinations delivered, the NHS figures show.
The main symptoms of measles
MEASLES is highly contagious and can cause serious problems in some people.
The infection usually starts with cold-like symptoms, followed by a rash a few days later.
The first signs include:
A high temperature
A runny or blocked nose
Sneezing
A cough
Red, sore, watery eyes
Small white spots may then appear inside the cheeks and on the back of the lips.
A rash tends to come next. This usually starts on the face and behind the ears before spreading to the rest of the body.
The spots are sometimes raised and join together to form blotchy patches. They are not normally itchy.
The rash looks brown or red on white skin. It may be harder to see on darker skin.
Complications are rare, but measles can lead to pneumonia, meningitis, blindness, seizures, and sometimes death.
Source: NHS