Measles outbreak - has your child been vaccinated?

A measles outbreak has been declared on Merseyside. There are 13 confirmed and 16 suspected cases ranging in age from nine months to adults aged in their 20s. Four children and two adults have required treatment in hospital. This compares to just one confirmed case on Merseyside in the first six weeks of 2011 and one in the corresponding period of 2010.



Parents are urged to ensure that their children are fully vaccinated. If in doubt about their child’s vaccination status they should ask their GP for advice.

Dr. Roberto Vivancos , a Consultant with the Health Protection Agency (HPA), said: “Measles is circulating in the community. We have alerted GPs and asked them to notify us of any cases they come across. We are also asking parents and GPs to do all they can to ensure that children are fully protected by MMR vaccine.”

MMR is safe, effective and reliable. Two doses give full immunity against measles, mumps and rubella, diseases that can be very serious.

The first dose of MMR vaccine is normally given at age 13 months and the second between the ages of 3 and 4 years, before the child goes to school. However, children of any age, including teenagers and young adults should still consider vaccination if they missed out at the recommended ages. It’s not too late.

The HPA is also advising people with symptoms of measles to:

• Stay away from school, nursery or work until four days have elapsed after the development of a rash.

•Telephone their GP for advice before attending GP surgeries, NHS walk-in centres or hospital A & E units. If it is necessary for a child or adult with measles to attend an NHS facility, the GP can telephone the facility in advance to make arrangements that will minimise the measles patient’s contact with other vulnerable patients.

•Avoid contact with pregnant women as they are more vulnerable to infection and measles is highly infectious.
Liverpool Primary Care Trust (PCT) has set up a telephone line for parents or indeed anyone seeking advice or information about measles. The number is 0151 296 7565 .

Advice is also available from NHS Direct on 0845 4647 .

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is this the 'bug' as they are calling it that has recently appeared in the past week in Southport Hospital Wards? My nan was due to be transferring back to her Care Home but has caught a 'bug' and now has symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and can't keep food down. As such has to stay in hozzie in case she passes it on to other residents in the home.

or maybe it is a 'bug' of another sort that has sprung up up in the past week.

My problem is, and it's a personal one, so may not even be a wanted post on here, so apols, is that 4 days before she was due to leave, a urine sample was 'missed' to check all ok enough for her to leave. Then 2 days later she caught a 'bug'. :(

i am '-' - ing the word 'bug' as I know little of medical stuff and hozzie procedures and I may well be jumping to incorrect conclusions.

even so, am proper mad.

rant over

I had measles when I was 12 and it does cause vomiting, diarrhoea, nausea and all the other things you describe. I think I lost about half a stone when I had it. I just couldn't eat anything because it just kept coming back up.
It's not nice to have.

The symptoms of Measles are:

Around 10 days after you get the measles infection, the following symptoms begin to appear:
cold-like symptoms, such as runny nose, watery eyes, swollen eyelids and sneezing,
red eyes and sensitivity to light,
a mild to severe temperature, which may peak at over 40.6°C (105°F) for several days, then fall but go up again when the rash appears,
tiny greyish-white spots (called Koplik's spots) in the mouth and throat,
tiredness, irritability and general lack of energy,
aches and pains,
poor appetite,
dry cough, and
red-brown spotty rash (see below).
The above symptoms generally last for up to 14 days.
Rash

The measles rash appears two to four days after initial symptoms and lasts for up to eight days. The spots usually start behind the ears, spread around the head and neck, then spread to the legs and the rest of the body.
The spots are initially small but quickly get bigger and often join together. Similar-looking rashes may be mistaken for measles, but measles has a range of symptoms, not just a rash.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Measles.../Symptoms.aspx

When I was a kid, if someone got Measles, parents would send their child round to play with them to catch it and get it out of the way.

How times change.

Originally Posted by Sproggy the Cat

When I was a kid, if someone got Measles, parents would send their child round to play with them to catch it and get it out of the way.

How times change.

when i was a child people died of measles or went blind!

Originally Posted by Sproggy the Cat

When I was a kid, if someone got Measles, parents would send their child round to play with them to catch it and get it out of the way.

How times change.

I think you are thinking of chicken pox - Measles is not like chicken pox.

Originally Posted by Sproggy the Cat

When I was a kid, if someone got Measles, parents would send their child round to play with them to catch it and get it out of the way.

How times change.

That would be German measles.i.e. Rubella.

Originally Posted by Rainmaker

I think you are thinking of chicken pox - Measles is not like chicken pox.

They had Measles party's so that the kids caught it. Look it up on google.
They are becoming popular again now too.

Sweet, a measles outbreak. Why aren't these children vaccinated? It's child abuse from bad parenting not to have that done, no question.

Thank you 'Jet' at least someone remembers it.
Or maybe you are as old as me.

Originally Posted by Sproggy the Cat

Thank you 'Jet' at least someone remembers it.
Or maybe you are as old as me.

I think I'm as old as you are Sproggy.

I also don't know anyone throughout my childhood who ever died or had any permanent damage due to Measles.

Maybe the disease is more deadly/dangerous these days and I wonder if that's because our children's immune systems are not as good as they should be. I wonder why that may be?

That kids giving us the finger!

Originally Posted by Adamthink

Sweet, a measles outbreak. Why aren't these children vaccinated? It's child abuse from bad parenting not to have that done, no question.

My girls COULD both catch measles.
The second vaccination is given at three years and four months, my eldest is having hers in two weeks, my youngest is two next week, and so cannot have it.

However, adults getting it? That's ridiculous.

Measles has some very nasty side effects and consequences, there is a vaccine available for chicken pox, but it's nowhere near as serious as measles. In my personal opinion, anyone knowingly attempting to give their own child measles should be locked up. Not years and years ago, but now, with all the info at our finger tips, why would anyone be so damn stupid? Just because the complications aren't certain, I'm not willing to risk my childrens lives!

Complications -
meningitis,
pneumonia (lung infection), signs of which are fast, difficult breathing, chest pain and deteriorating condition,
hepatitis (liver infection),
encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), which can be fatal, so watch for drowsiness, headache and vomiting,
low platelet count, known medically as thrombocytopenia, which affects the blood's ability to clot,
bronchitis and croup (infection of the airways), characterised by a hacking or barking cough, and
squint, if the virus affects the nerves and muscles of the eye.
serious eye disorders, such as an infection of the optic nerve (the nerve that transmits information from the eye to the brain), known as optic neuritis, which can lead to blindness,
heart and nervous system problems,
a serious brain complication known as subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), which can sometimes occur several years after measles. Although the condition is fatal, it is very rare, occurring in only 1 in every 100,000 cases of measles.

WHY is it bad parenting if you do not have your children's vaccinations up to date, and why is it tantamount to child abuse, Adamthink?

Some children cannot have the vaccine for medical reasons, such as due to certain health conditions. Before you get your tar brush out and start waving it around, consider the fact that to every rule, there is an exception.

That's what educated people do.

Originally Posted by 3am Bird

WHY is it bad parenting if you do not have your children's vaccinations up to date, and why is it tantamount to child abuse, Adamthink?

Some children cannot have the vaccine for medical reasons, such as due to certain health conditions. Before you get your tar brush out and start waving it around, consider the fact that to every rule, there is an exception.

That's what educated people do.

I stand corrected, apologies.

I am concerned about the growing number of parents who choose to ignore medical advice and favour Andrew Wakefield's views, though.

Apology accepted. Many publications of the medical ilk are vastly over-exaggerated.

I have had a letter in my son's bag today about the outbreak, they've obviously been sending them to all of the schools. My son has had one shot of MMR, I think if there are cases in Southport I'll be sending him for his second. I never had the BCG for TB in high school myself, my mum considered TB to be an ancient illness that had been eradicated long ago, which isn't exactly true, yet I decided to take her point.

No regrets so far.

Originally Posted by 3am Bird

Apology accepted. Many publications of the medical ilk are vastly over-exaggerated.

I have had a letter in my son's bag today about the outbreak, they've obviously been sending them to all of the schools. My son has had one shot of MMR, I think if there are cases in Southport I'll be sending him for his second. I never had the BCG for TB in high school myself, my mum considered TB to be an ancient illness that had been eradicated long ago, which isn't exactly true, yet I decided to take her point.

No regrets so far.

What area is your lads school 3am? Mines Birkdale and we never got a letter.
Do you know I havent a scar from the BCG, most girls I know have some sort of scar, leads me to wondering if I actually had it, I think I did. My mum had her first heart atatck of three when I was 12 or 13 so I missed a lot of school looking after her though.Id have some sort of scar wouldnt I?