A fast-spreading measles outbreak has gripped north London, particularly affecting unvaccinated children under 10. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed that 34 laboratory-confirmed measles cases were reported among children in Enfield schools and nurseries from January 1 to February 9, with some requiring hospital treatment.
Measles, a highly contagious viral illness, can easily spread among the unvaccinated. While many recover, it can lead to severe complications like pneumonia, brain inflammation, and, in rare cases, long-term disability or death. Dr. Vanessa Saliba, a consultant epidemiologist at the UKHSA, emphasized the severity of the situation, stating that the outbreak is mostly affecting unvaccinated children under 10 in schools and nurseries, with some being hospitalized.
The MMRV vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox, is highly effective in preventing the illness. However, the uptake of this vaccine has been declining across the UK, with only about 84% of children receiving both doses by the age of five. This is well below the 95% level needed to prevent outbreaks.
Enfield has one of the lowest MMRV vaccine uptake rates in the country, according to UKHSA figures from last August, which showed just 64.3% of five-year-olds in the borough received both doses in 2024-25. The situation is made more critical by the fact that measles is highly infectious, approximately six times more so than COVID-19.
The outbreak has led to a surge in suspected cases, with more than 60 reported by seven schools and a nursery in Enfield. A message posted on the borough's Ordnance Unity Centre for Health GP surgery website described a "fast-spreading measles outbreak." It said: "During this recent outbreak, one in five children have been hospitalized due to measles and all of them had not been fully immunized."
Alev Cazimoglu, Enfield council’s cabinet member for health and social care, emphasized the importance of vaccination, stating that "catching the measles is entirely preventable, but it spreads extremely quickly where vaccination levels are low." Dudu Sher-Arami, Enfield’s director of public health, is writing to every parent in the area to try to contain the spread of the disease. Temporary vaccination centers have been established in schools across the borough to boost immunization levels.
The outbreak has the potential to cause a "much greater and bigger pan-London outbreak" as people travel across the city for work and school, according to Sher-Arami. Modelling by the UKHSA suggests that between 40,000 and 160,000 people could become infected in a large measles outbreak in London.
There is no specific treatment for measles, only the vaccination to prevent catching it. Although the vaccination has been proven to be safe and effective, debunked claims linking the injection to autism have persisted on social media and among some minority ethnic communities, contributing to vaccine hesitancy.
