Last week I double-checked the girls’ red books to make sure they’d had both doses of the MMR vaccine (Mumps, Measles, Rubella).

I’ve seen an increasing number of news stories about pockets where there have been outbreaks. The Disneyland one was particularly headline-grabbing. Whilst most of these have been in other countries, I think it’s going to be a serious issue in the UK. By the way, in 2000, the US declared that it had eliminated measles.

I’m not going to debate pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine, I’m far too ignorant about all of the issues involved. All I know is I’m very happy they’ve had both doses of the vaccine.

There was much negative publicity about the MMR vaccine. This was enough to put many parents off getting it for their children. Again, I won’t go into that, but it does mean that uptake of this particular vaccination is severely reduced.

Measles is extremely contagious, so much so that 90 percent of those who aren’t immunised would catch it if exposed. It’s airborne and can remain in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours after an infected person has left. It is also transmittable before it can be diagnosed. Children who are too young to have had the first or second dose of the MMR vaccine are obviously at risk as are children with illnesses such as cancer who can’t be vaccinated and children who are immunocompromised.

I hope I’m wrong about a big UK outbreak.

What the NHS says about measles

Here’s what the NHS says about measles with some of the signs and symptoms:

Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can be very unpleasant and can sometimes lead to serious complications. However, it’s now uncommon in the UK because of the effectiveness of the MMR vaccination.

The initial symptoms of measles develop around 10 days after you are infected. These can include:

• cold-like symptoms
• red eyes and sensitivity to light
• a high temperature (fever)
• greyish white spots in the mouth and throat

After a few days, a red-brown spotty rash will appear. This usually starts behind the ears and then spreads around the head and neck before spreading to the rest of the body.

Read more about the symptoms of measles.

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