Wandsworth's Neighbours Have Measles
Director of Public Health encourages parents to vaccinate their children with MMR jabs
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In the last fortnight there have been four confirmed and 19 suspected cases of measles in neighbouring boroughs of Sutton and Merton. Several children have received hospital treatment.
Houda Al-Sharifi, Director of Public Health for NHS Wandsworth and Wandsworth Council said, “Although these cases are at the moment in our neighbouring boroughs, they have been seen across the community affecting a number of schools and across a wide range of age groups. A significant number of the cases have been in secondary school aged children.
“All parents in the area are advised to make sure that their children are up to date with their immunisations and have had two doses of MMR. The MMR vaccine is the safest way that parents can protect their children against measles, mumps and rubella, which are diseases that can be serious for babies, children and their families."
If your child is not up to date with their jabs call your GP today or drop into one of our local evening and weekend clinics in Tooting or Roehampton. For more information call the Wandsworth Immunisation Helpline on 020 8812 6090 or visit www.wandsworth.nhs.uk and click on immunisations on the home page.
What is Measles? 1. Measles is a very infectious viral illness that used to affect up to 800,000 people per year. Since the introduction of measles vaccine, and especially since the introduction of MMR vaccine, numbers of cases have been reduced to very low levels. 2. Measles is an acute, highly infectious viral illness and usually starts with fever, sore eyes, a runny nose, a cough and sometimes white spots in the mouth. It is usual to feel unwell with the above symptoms for five to seven days before a characteristic rash appears. 3. People are infectious from four days before to around four days after the onset of the rash. Those affected should stay off school or work for five days from the onset of the rash. |
May 24, 2010