No part of the country is safe from the threat of measles, a top doctor has warned.
As officials in Swansea battle to stem Britain’s biggest outbreak of the disease for more than a decade, Meirion Evans, of Public Health Wales, said: 'Nowhere in Wales is safe from measles and I think that is true of the UK as a whole.'
Dozens of children were in hospital and the epidemic was showing no sign of abating, he said, adding there was 'very real concern we might get a death’.
Almost 700 cases of measles have been confirmed in the Swansea area and it is feared numbers will soar when children return to school after the Easter holiday.
There is particular concern that the disease, which is spread through coughing and sneezing, is hitting teenagers who were not given the MMR triple jab against measles, mumps and rubella as babies.
This will include those whose parents feared for the safety of the jab, following research by Andrew Wakefield linking it to bowel problems and autism. This work has since been discredited.
Thousands of children were vaccinated in Swansea at the weekend and clinics are being set up in surrounding areas in an attempt to stop the infection’s spread.
Dr Evans, an expert in the spread of disease, said the threat extended beyond Wales, with vaccination rates in many other parts of Britain also low.
He said: 'Across Wales as a whole there are many, many children who have not had their MMR – we estimate over 40,000 children – so there is a real possibility that it could seed from Swansea to other parts of Wales and potentially take a grip there.
'Nowhere in Wales is safe from measles and I think that is true of the UK as a whole.'
The consultant epidemiologist
forecast that the outbreak could last until the summer holidays and
added: 'We have had over 60 children who have been in hospital with
measles. Thankfully none have died but there is a real concern that
might happen.'
An outbreak in Dublin in 2000 resulted in three deaths.
Dr Evans said: 'We are urging parents to get their children protected as soon as possible because you just cannot take the chance with measles.'
Those who catch measles can feel like they have a bad cold, with a fever, dry cough and red or sore eyes. A few days later, a red-brown spotty rash appears.
It usually starts behind the ears, then spreads around the head and neck before covering the body. Potentially lethal complications include pneumonia, hepatitis and swelling of the brain. About one in five people who catch the bug spend time in hospital.
Health officials are braced for the first death in the measles epidemic, as it is revealed more than 60 children have been hospitalised with the illness.
More than 2,700 people were vaccinated at drop in clinics across the region yesterday.
Around 40,000 children are believed to be unvaccinated, with around 13,000 in the Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan area.
In Swansea, where the outbreak is centred, at least 6,000 children remain unvaccinated in the south west Wales county.
At some clinics patients queued for 90 minutes as they waited for vaccinations to start.
The Government has dismissed claims by Dr Wakefield that officials were responsible for the recent outbreak affecting south Wales, the north east of England and in Gloucestershire.
Dr Wakefield, who was struck off over the MMR controversy, said officials had appeared to be more concerned about protecting the MMR programme than they were about protecting children when they withdrew the option of single measles vaccine.
'These government officials put price before children's health and have been seeking to cover up this shameful fact ever since,' he added.
A Department of Health spokesman said: 'Dr Andrew Wakefield's claims are completely incorrect.
'Immunisation advice from the department has always kept the interests of patients paramount. Measles is a highly infectious and harmful disease.
'If your child has not had two doses of MMR, whatever their age, we urge you to contact your GP surgery and make an appointment.'
Professor David Salisbury, director of immunisation at the Department of Health, said the problems in Wales were 'historic'.
'Our immunisation coverage rates, currently, are extremely high, 95% of children are being vaccinated in this country,' he told BBC Breakfast.
Asked about the situation in Wales, he said: 'That is a historic problem, the legacy of bizarre suggestions about vaccines and autism from 15 years ago, that's not the situation currently.'
Although the outbreak is centred on Swansea, cases have continued to be reported across the principality.
Most are in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Heath Board area.
The board's director of public health, Dr Sara Hayes, said: 'We are very pleased so many people turned up today and I'd like to thank everyone for their patience whilst they waited to be seen.
'I cannot stress enough how
important it is for people to have their MMR. The number of cases and
people being hospitalised with measles is continuing to rise and we can
only stop it by protecting those we can against it.
'Measles is a horrible disease and can have long term effects such as deafness and blindness.
'This is why we are offering first vaccinations early to babies aged six months to one year.
'It's also very important for older children and adults born after 1970 to make sure they have had two MMRs.'
Cases have also been found in Powys and in the Hywel Dda Health Board area - which covers Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.
Typical symptoms of measles include fever, cough, conjunctivitis and a rash. Complications are quite common even in healthy people, and about 20 per cent of reported measles cases experience one or more complications.
These can include ear infections, vomiting and diarrhoea, pneumonia, meningitis and serious eye disorders.
Before the introduction of the MMR jab in 1988, about half a million children caught measles each year in the UK. Approximately 100 of those died.
As officials in Swansea battle to stem Britain’s biggest outbreak of the disease for more than a decade, Meirion Evans, of Public Health Wales, said: 'Nowhere in Wales is safe from measles and I think that is true of the UK as a whole.'
Dozens of children were in hospital and the epidemic was showing no sign of abating, he said, adding there was 'very real concern we might get a death’.
Almost 700 cases of measles have been confirmed in the Swansea area and it is feared numbers will soar when children return to school after the Easter holiday.
There is particular concern that the disease, which is spread through coughing and sneezing, is hitting teenagers who were not given the MMR triple jab against measles, mumps and rubella as babies.
This will include those whose parents feared for the safety of the jab, following research by Andrew Wakefield linking it to bowel problems and autism. This work has since been discredited.
Thousands of children were vaccinated in Swansea at the weekend and clinics are being set up in surrounding areas in an attempt to stop the infection’s spread.
Dr Evans, an expert in the spread of disease, said the threat extended beyond Wales, with vaccination rates in many other parts of Britain also low.
He said: 'Across Wales as a whole there are many, many children who have not had their MMR – we estimate over 40,000 children – so there is a real possibility that it could seed from Swansea to other parts of Wales and potentially take a grip there.
'Nowhere in Wales is safe from measles and I think that is true of the UK as a whole.'
Kieran Elford, aged 13, is given an MMR
injection. Around 40,000 children are believed to be unvaccinated, with
around 13,000 in the Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan area
An outbreak in Dublin in 2000 resulted in three deaths.
Dr Evans said: 'We are urging parents to get their children protected as soon as possible because you just cannot take the chance with measles.'
Those who catch measles can feel like they have a bad cold, with a fever, dry cough and red or sore eyes. A few days later, a red-brown spotty rash appears.
It usually starts behind the ears, then spreads around the head and neck before covering the body. Potentially lethal complications include pneumonia, hepatitis and swelling of the brain. About one in five people who catch the bug spend time in hospital.
Health officials are braced for the first death in the measles epidemic, as it is revealed more than 60 children have been hospitalised with the illness.
MMR controversy: Dr Andrew Wakefield has blamed the Government for the measles outbreak
Around 40,000 children are believed to be unvaccinated, with around 13,000 in the Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan area.
In Swansea, where the outbreak is centred, at least 6,000 children remain unvaccinated in the south west Wales county.
Fears: Dr Wakefield linked the MMR vaccine to bowel problems and autism
The Government has dismissed claims by Dr Wakefield that officials were responsible for the recent outbreak affecting south Wales, the north east of England and in Gloucestershire.
Dr Wakefield, who was struck off over the MMR controversy, said officials had appeared to be more concerned about protecting the MMR programme than they were about protecting children when they withdrew the option of single measles vaccine.
'These government officials put price before children's health and have been seeking to cover up this shameful fact ever since,' he added.
A Department of Health spokesman said: 'Dr Andrew Wakefield's claims are completely incorrect.
'Immunisation advice from the department has always kept the interests of patients paramount. Measles is a highly infectious and harmful disease.
'If your child has not had two doses of MMR, whatever their age, we urge you to contact your GP surgery and make an appointment.'
Professor David Salisbury, director of immunisation at the Department of Health, said the problems in Wales were 'historic'.
'Our immunisation coverage rates, currently, are extremely high, 95% of children are being vaccinated in this country,' he told BBC Breakfast.
Asked about the situation in Wales, he said: 'That is a historic problem, the legacy of bizarre suggestions about vaccines and autism from 15 years ago, that's not the situation currently.'
Although the outbreak is centred on Swansea, cases have continued to be reported across the principality.
Most are in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Heath Board area.
The board's director of public health, Dr Sara Hayes, said: 'We are very pleased so many people turned up today and I'd like to thank everyone for their patience whilst they waited to be seen.
Outbreak: Dr Meirion Evans believes the measles outbreak could last until the summer holidays
'Measles is a horrible disease and can have long term effects such as deafness and blindness.
'This is why we are offering first vaccinations early to babies aged six months to one year.
'It's also very important for older children and adults born after 1970 to make sure they have had two MMRs.'
Cases have also been found in Powys and in the Hywel Dda Health Board area - which covers Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.
Typical symptoms of measles include fever, cough, conjunctivitis and a rash. Complications are quite common even in healthy people, and about 20 per cent of reported measles cases experience one or more complications.
These can include ear infections, vomiting and diarrhoea, pneumonia, meningitis and serious eye disorders.
Before the introduction of the MMR jab in 1988, about half a million children caught measles each year in the UK. Approximately 100 of those died.