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Measles vaccination catch-up
Lucy Butler,15, prepares to have her measles jab at All Saints school in Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, as a national vaccination catch-up campaign is launched in England. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA
Lucy Butler,15, prepares to have her measles jab at All Saints school in Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, as a national vaccination catch-up campaign is launched in England. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Measles cases in south Wales outbreak climb to 942

This article is more than 10 years old
Figure for greater Swansea area rises by 56 as experts warn epidemic shows no sign of easing

Measles cases in south Wales have jumped by 56 in two days as experts warn the outbreak shows no sign of ending.

The headline total has reached 942 cases in the greater Swansea area with the 10-18 age group worst hit.

The latest figures come a week after the death of Gareth Williams, 25, a father of one who had measles. The results of tests to establish the cause of his death are still awaited.

A £20m programme to vaccinate 1 million children and teenagers across England has been announced.

It has been prompted by fears that the epidemic in Wales could spread across the border into England. Just as in Wales, many people missed out on the vital MMR jab and are unprotected against the spread of the disease.

In both cases, unfounded fears that the three-in-one jab was linked to autism in children were responsible for the drop in vaccination uptake.

Public Health Wales has urged teenagers preparing to sit GCSE and A-level exams to ensure they are vaccinated.

Efforts to vaccinate thousands of children and young adults who missed out in the past are still under way.

Thousands of parents have been attending weekend drop-in clinics with their children. An urgent in-school vaccination programme has also been going on to ensure children are protected against the disease.

The outbreak in Swansea is one of the biggest to have hit the UK in the past decade.

Although the outbreak is centred mainly on Swansea, rates of measles are high throughout the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University, Powys and Hywel Dda health board areas, especially in Neath Port Talbot and north Powys.

As part of the £20m programme in England, GP surgeries, schools and community programmes will be used as vaccination centres.

The campaign will target children and young people who have not had either one or two doses of the measles, mumps and rubella jab.

It comes after Public Health England revealed there were 587 confirmed measles cases in the first three months of this year in England, more than three times the 168 cases in the same period of 2012.

More on this story

More on this story

  • MMR vaccine: lawyers sued for pursuing claim based on link to autism

  • Measles outbreak: number of cases passes 1,000 in Swansea area

  • Measles: 'greater risk of infection' in private schools

  • Measles vaccination campaign begins - video

  • Vaccination campaign launches with hope of halting measles outbreak

  • Measles outbreak triggers fresh emphasis on MMR vaccinations

  • First measles fatality feared as man found dead in Swansea flat

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