The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has warned that measles could spread unless urgent action is taken to increase Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination uptake. 

Measles is an infection which can spread very easily between people and can cause serious illness. The MMR vaccine is a very safe and effective vaccine which protects you from catching and spreading measles. 

Measles is often thought of as a childhood illness but can affect anyone who has not had an MMR vaccine or previously had a measles infection. People in certain at-risk groups including babies and young children, pregnant women, and people with a weakened immune system, are at increased risk of complications from measles.

There have been a number of cases in the West Midlands, the majority of cases have been in children under 10 years old, but around 1:5 have been adults. Anyone in a setting with a large number of people, such as schools or nurseries, is at an increased risk of exposure to measles. We want to ensure that we are protecting our education settings and communities here in Derby.

In order to protect your education setting, please:

  1. Remind parents/carers that the MMR vaccine is safe and effective, and children should receive the MMR vaccines to protect them from measles. You can refer them to this NHS guidance: Measles, Don’t let your child catch it, this resource is available in different languages here
  2. Remind staff that they should receive their MMR vaccine to protect themselves and their families. You can refer them to this NHS guidance: MMR for all
  3. Risk-assess your staff: any person who has not received at least one dose of the MMR vaccine and is a contact of a measles case, could be asked to isolate at home for 21 days. Please consider how staff absence due to isolation would affect your business continuity. Please also specifically consider pregnant staff, the MMR vaccine cannot be given during pregnancy so you may need to consider other actions if measles cases occur locally. 

Guidance about managing outbreaks in education settings is available at: Health protection in children and young people settings, including education.

If you have a case of measles in your school, please contact your local UKHSA Health Protection Team on 0344 2254 524.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact cct@derby.gov.uk