Vaccine misunderstanding 'led to measles spike'

Alder Hey chief nurse Nathan Askew said the MMR vaccine is "very safe"

A spike in measles cases among children on Merseyside has been caused by misunderstanding around the safety of vaccines, a hospital head nurse has said.

Alder Hey Children's Hospital has seen a surge in children being taken to hospital after becoming "seriously unwell" with highly contagious virus.

The rise has been blamed on a fall in the uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

Chief nurse Nathan Askew said serious cases of the virus had "basically all went away" early in his career, but had now started to come back as "vaccine levels are dropping".

The number of children in the north west of England to receive both doses of the MMR vaccine fell to 84.5% in 2023-24 from 87.1% in 2021-22, according to figures from the NHS.

Mr Askew said the virus had been "eradicated in the UK and now it is back as a really contagious and dangerous childhood illness".

He said there was "a lot of misunderstanding" around the MMR vaccine, particularly after a study which falsely linked it to autism.

• Measles: Why are cases rising and what is the MMR vaccine?

Mr Askew said many studies have shown the claim "is not true" and there is no link.

"This vaccine's been in use for well over 50 years. It's very safe, tried and tested," he said.

Tony Murphy and Claire Kelly said vaccinating their son against meningitis may have saved his life

Measles infections usually start with cold-like symptoms like a runny nose, followed by a blotchy rash on the body days later.

Children are usually given the MMR jab before their first birthday, with the second administered after they turn three.

People of any age can be given the vaccine via the NHS for free.

Liverpool mother Claire Kelly said she made sure her children were vaccinated, including her son .

She said his vaccination against meningitis "probably helped save" his life when he contracted the infection.

"They do need to get vaccinated...all the kids should have it," she said.

She said she was hoping to get the second dose of the MMR vaccine for her daughter as soon as possible.

'Really nasty'

Director of Public Health for Liverpool City Council Matt Ashton said measles was "incredibly easy to transmit" among unvaccinated people.

"One infected person can infect up to 15 other people, so it can spread really rapidly," he said.

Mr Ashton warned the "worrying" increase in cases could result in "large outbreaks" in the community.

He said: "That becomes very difficult to manage, and also can have potentially serious consequences for people who catch measles.

"We all have responsibility here to look after our children and young people, and the reality is diseases like measles are really nasty and it's not something you'd want your loved ones to catch or be exposed to."