Measles is very contagious, so even a small decrease in vaccine acceptance can lead to an increase in cases.
In recent years there has been a resurgence of measles in England and around the world. In 2024 there were 2,911 laboratory-confirmed cases of measles in England, the highest number of cases recorded annually in decades. The figures reported for 2025 currently record 959 laboratory-confirmed cases of measles. Most of these cases have occurred in unvaccinated children under 10 years of age. The recent measles outbreak in Enfield, north London, is a reminder of how easily it can spread in an area with low vaccination levels.
The routine childhood vaccination rate is the lowest in a decade and is well below the 95% needed to protect the population and prevent measles outbreaks. This is giving measles a chance to gain a foothold in our communities. Achieving high vaccination coverage across the entire population is important as it also indirectly helps protect very young infants who have not yet received the MMRV vaccine and other vulnerable groups.
What is the MMRV vaccine and how is it different from MMR?
Due to the introduction of a chickenpox vaccination programme, the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine replaced the MMR vaccine in the routine childhood schedule from 1 January 2026. If your child was born on or after 1 January 2025, they will be offered their first dose of MMRV at 12 months and their second dose of MMRV at 18 months.
You can learn more about the reasons for the change and which vaccines children should receive and when, in this blog post.
Can I get vaccinated as an adult?
Older children and adults born on or before 31 December 2019 who are not up to date can receive the MMR vaccine for free on the NHS, regardless of their age.
What are the symptoms of measles?
Measles is caused by a virus and spreads very easily; It used to be common in childhood, but is now rare due to the childhood vaccination program.
If you catch it, at first you may feel like you have a cold with a runny nose and cough, sore red eyes (conjunctivitis) and fever, but this is followed a few days later by a rash that spreads all over the body. See pictures of the measles rash on the NHS website.
Measles can cause complications such as ear and chest infections, seizures, diarrhea, and dehydration in younger children. In rare cases, measles can also cause infection of the lining of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis) or the brain itself (encephalitis), which can lead to long-term disabilities or even death.
People in certain risk groups, including infants and young children, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems, are at higher risk of complications from measles.
Should I send my child to school if they have cold-like symptoms, as these may be an early sign of measles?
If your child has been vaccinated, it is very unlikely that measles is the cause.
School attendance is important to your child’s learning and overall well-being. According to the NHS, it is okay for children to attend school with a mild cough or common cold, as long as they do not have a temperature. This blog post explains what to do if you think your child has measles and when to keep them out of school.
Can measles cause serious complications?
Although complications are rare, measles can cause serious problems if it spreads to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or brain. These include pneumonia, meningitis, blindness and seizures. Infants, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems are at increased risk.
Is measles dangerous during pregnancy?
If you are not vaccinated, getting measles during pregnancy can harm your baby and lead to miscarriage or stillbirth, premature birth, or low birth weight. If you are pregnant and have been in close contact with someone who has measles, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
How contagious is measles?
Measles is one of the most infectious diseases in the world. It can be transmitted very easily from person to person, mainly through coughing and sneezing. To understand how infectious a disease is we use a concept called R. R0 stands for Basic Reproductive Number and represents the average number of people a person could infect in a completely non-immune population. The R number for measles is 15. That means that if no one had immunity, on average, one person with measles would infect 15 others. To put this in context, influenza, COVID-19, mumps, norovirus, and the common cold all have significantly lower R numbers than measles. With such a high R number, it takes little time to go from a few measles cases to hundreds of infected people, if there are enough unprotected people in the population.
What is the incubation period?
The incubation period for measles (the time between exposure to an infection and when symptoms begin to appear) is usually 10 to 12 days from exposure to first symptoms, but can range from 7 to 18 days, and the characteristic rash usually appears around day 14. An infected person is contagious from about 4 days before the rash begins until 4 days later.
How long does measles last?
Most people will feel better after 7 to 10 days.
Is measles a problem if I travel abroad?
Since the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1968, more than 20 million cases of measles and 4,500 deaths have been prevented in the UK. However, countries around the world with low MMR vaccine uptake continue to experience large measles outbreaks and epidemics.
It is especially important to check that you and your children are up to date with your 2 doses of MMR or MMRV before you travel. Not only would it be unpleasant to get sick abroad, but you could also risk bringing the infection with you and exposing your family and friends.
Two doses of MMRV for complete protection
The MMRV vaccine is a simple way to protect your child against measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox (chickenpox). More than 99% of those who receive 2 doses of the MMRV vaccine will be protected against measles and rubella. Although protection against mumps is slightly less, cases in vaccinated people are much less serious.
The MMRV vaccine will protect your child against 4 serious infections. It will also help protect others who cannot receive the vaccine. These include unborn babies, babies who are too young to receive the vaccine, and those who cannot receive it because they have weakened immune systems. This will help prevent major disease outbreaks.
Since the MMR vaccine was introduced in 1988, these conditions have become rare in the UK. However, outbreaks of these diseases, especially measles, have occurred when the number of people receiving the vaccine decreased. The drop in MMR uptake over the last decade explains the rise in measles cases we have seen in the UK since 2023.
What role does UKHSA play?
We play a central role in the national vaccination program, including developing guidelines for health professionals, creating public information resources, supporting program design and implementation, and monitoring coverage and effectiveness. We carry out measles surveillance across the UK and carry out public health interventions with local partners where cases occur. You can see the latest figures for measles cases in England published on our Data Dashboard.
