MMR jab advice issued

MMR jab advice issued

It follows news that 828 laboratory-confirmed measles cases were reported in England between 1 January and 13 August this year.

The outbreak has been linked to one being experienced across Europe which the World Health Organisation said had included 41,000 people having been infected in the first six months of 2018, leading to 37 deaths.

Last year there were 23,927 cases and in 2016 5,273 cases were reported. The majority of cases have been in teenagers and young adults who missed out on their MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) jab as children. There were once fears of a link between the vaccine and autism.

However, that has since been proven to be false.

Dr Linda Diggle, head of preventive programmes, is urging anyone who missed a vaccination to contact their GP or the immunisation specialist nurse.

‘In Jersey, our 2017 statistics show that over 95 per cent of children received their first MMR vaccine dose by age two and almost 92 per cent had completed the full two-dose course of MMR vaccine by five years of age.’

In Jersey in 2013 more than 80 children who had originally missed out on the measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations received the jabs after the Health Department invited the parents of more than 500 children aged between ten and 13 to a free clinic at the General Hospital.

‘Also, any children moving into Jersey who have missed out on vaccines are routinely offered any missing vaccinations,’ Dr Diggle said.

She added: ‘We have had fewer than five laboratory-confirmed measles cases in Jersey in the past decade. However, we are not complacent. If unprotected by MMR vaccine, it only needs brief proximity to one case of measles for infection to be very likely.

‘And it’s timely to remind parents whose children may not have had MMR vaccine in the past to ensure their children are vaccine-protected, particularly if they have any plans to take them on holidays off-Island.’

For more information about childhood vaccinations talk to your GP or call the immunisation nurse specialist on 445790.

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