Photograph by Sarah G
The number of measles cases in the ongoing Swansea epidemic has risen by 20 in the last week, raising the total number to 1,094, with Public Health Wales warning that the outbreak may spread further.
The outbreak is the result of a low take-up of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine after a false report was published in the Lancet in 1998 but later retracted about a possible link with autism.
A number of parents feared inflicting autism on their children and chose not to give the MMR vaccination to their children. This low uptake of the vaccination, especially amongst those aged 10 to 18 who are hardest hot by the disease has meant that the spread of the disease is likely. Health officials believe that to maintain “herd immunity” within a population, so that any specific outbreak will be contained by those around them having been vaccinated, 95% or moreof the population needs to be vaccinated.
In total, 1,257 people across Wales have contracted the disease since last November.
