A significant number of measles cases have been reported across London which has put public health officials on ‘high alert’.
The Independent reports:
Public Health England (PHE) has written to educators in the boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster warning them to be vigilant for the highly contagious infection.
A letter was sent to head teachers from PHE Consultant Dr Janice Lo stating that “there has been a significant increase” in measles cases. She went on to say that:
“Some of these children may have siblings attending other schools in nearby boroughs, and therefore, we would like to inform you of the affected schools and ask you to stay vigilant for any new cases reported. As measles is a highly infectious disease and can lead to serious complications, we strongly encourage you to take this opportunity to ensure your staff and parents are aware of the importance of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and encourage them and the children to be vaccinated.”
How many cases exactly is causing this alarm is unknown, what we do know is that the three schools involved are all Church of England Schools.
As the media latch onto this we can expect the UK’s Measles fear mongering and attack on anti-vaccine groups to be ramped up dramatically. Last month the UK’s Health Secretary, Matt Hancock said anti-vaxxers have ‘Blood on their hands’ and that he wouldn’t rule out mandatory vaccinations.
Further Reading: The Independent
