A Campaign has been started by the NHS across East London for children to have jabs against measles, mumps and rubella as the number of reported cases increases.
Parents in the City and neighbouring Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham are being urged to make sure toddlers have the MMR immunisation at 13 months and repeated before going to school, in a joint NHS campaign with the Health Protection Agency.
Dr Jim Lawrie, an East London GP, said: “Measles is extremely contagious and can cause pneumonia, brain damage, eyesight damage—and sometimes death.
“It spreads easily in nurseries, schools, universities and colleges, but is preventable with immunisation.”
Teenagers who missed out on the jab or did not complete the full course are being advised to have the vaccine if they plan to leave home to go to university. Parents who suspect measles are being asked to keep their child away from others and phone their GP.
One-in-three of the 334 laboratory-confirmed cases of measles in the country between January and April were in London.
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