A mum whose baby was “struggling to breathe” after catching measles has urged parents to vaccinate their children – as health officials warn of a potential surge in cases ahead of the new school year.
Last year saw a major outbreak of the disease in the UK, which started in the West Midlands and has now spread to every region of the country.
There were 321,582 cases worldwide in 2023 – an 88% increase from the previous year, when 171,153 cases were recorded.
Davina Barrett, from Walsall, has now said it was “awful” when her then three-month-old son Ezra contracted the illness, and that the family “were so shocked at how bad [he] got quite quickly”.
She said the rash “spread rapidly and covered his entire body”, and added: “Seeing him struggling to breathe and being hooked up to oxygen was awful.
“I had no idea measles could make babies so ill.”
Pleading for people to get their children vaccinated, she said: “Parents need to know that they are not just protecting their own child, but that the MMR [measles, mumps, and rubella] vaccine could save the life of a baby like Ezra who is too young to have his own protection.
“Measles can be nasty but it’s entirely preventable.”
Read more:
What to do if you think your child has measles
Cases worldwide almost double in a year
Pic: Davina Barrett
‘Easily preventable’ diseases
It comes as the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England are urging parents to vaccinate children against “easily preventable” diseases in a new six-week campaign.
Officials are focusing on measles, whooping cough, meningitis, diphtheria and polio, and are concerned that uptake of the MMR vaccine is still too low in some areas of England.
Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA, said: “As a mum and doctor it is especially tragic to see kids suffering when these diseases are so easily preventable.
“Two MMR jabs offer the best and safest protection against measles but if unvaccinated, children are at risk of serious illness or life-long complications.
“No parent wants this for their child.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
According to UKHSA data, there have been 2,278 lab-confirmed measles cases in England from the start of 2024 up to 5 August.
In the four weeks up to that date, there were 153 cases, most of which were in London.
The UKHSA also said that in the last 12 months, the NHS administered 180,000 additional MMR doses, with more than 51,000 of these given to children aged five or under.
More than 13% of previously unvaccinated children younger than five also had their first dose of the jab during the period.
It added that uptake of the second dose among black, Caribbean or African children aged between three and five was up by 4.9%.
