Mumps cases triple in England

pharmafile | May 24, 2019 | News story | Medical Communications MMR, UK, Vaccine, health, public health 

Public Health England has urged patients to ensure that they have received the MMR vaccine after the number of cases of mumps almost tripled.

Mumps cases increased from 275 in the first quarter of 2018 to 795 cases in the first quarter of 2019. There were just 1,031 cases of mumps in the whole of 2018. 

Large outbreaks occurred at The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University at the beginning of the year.

Many students now at university were born at the peak of the MMR vaccine autism scare which saw immunisation rates drop in the UK and around the world.

Cases of measles have also more than doubled since the least quarter of 2019 increasing from 97 cases in Q4 2018 to 231 in Q1 2019. However measles cases spiked in Q2 2018 reaching a total of 421.

Public Health England urged healthcare professionals to speak ‘confidently about the value of vaccines’ as they said their research showed 93% of parents agreed that they were the most trusted source of information on vaccines.

Chief Executive at Public Health England, Duncan Selbie said: “In a world where mis-information is so easily spread online we must all speak confidently about the value of vaccines and leave the public in no doubt that they are safe and save lives.”

“It’s testament to our hard-working doctors and nurses that families trust them to provide accurate facts about the effectiveness of vaccines. They’re our vaccine heroes and we all have a role in supporting them.”

Louis Goss

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