Rise in children's mumps and measles jabs (From The Argus)

Rise in children's mumps and measles jabs

3:59pm Friday 28th September 2007

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The number of children vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella is rising.

However the number of children protected against the diseases is still not high enough to prevent an outbreak in Sussex.

Figures compiled by the Health Protection Agency show large numbers of youngsters across Sussex have had the MMR vaccine by the age of two.

The best performing area was West Sussex where its take-up rate for the 12 months from April 2006 to March this year, was 90 per cent.

In the East Sussex Downs and Weald Primary Care Trust (PCT) area the figure was 87 per cent while Hastings and Rother reported an 84 per cent take up rate.

The lowest performing area was Brighton and Hove which had a 79 per cent rate but this is an improvement on last year's 74 per cent rate and a significant rise on previous years when the percentage was as low as 68.

The average for England is 85 per cent, which is slightly up on last year's figure of 84.

However the figures still fall well short of the World Health Organisation's (WHO) recommendation that at least 95 per cent of a community needs to be vaccinated to prevent an outbreak of measles or mumps.

Research published in The Lancet in 1998 caused widespread panic among parents when it suggested a link between MMR and autism, a claim which has since been largely rejected by most experts who insist the vaccine is safe.

The impact on the report had a particular effect in the Brighton and Hove area but in recent years there has been a steady improvement.

The Information Centre, an independent organisation which provides details about health and social care across England, has produced a report based on the health protection agency's figures.

Acting chief executive Tim Straughan said: "While it is encouraging to see that uptake of the MMR vaccine has risen slightly for the third successive year, more needs to be done to ensure we meet the levels recommended by the WHO."

Brighton and Hove City PCT director of public health Tom Scanlon said: "These are really encouraging figures, which are a result of a lot of hard work to increase the update of the vaccine across the city.

"If your child missed their MMR jab for any reason then I urge you to protect your child now.

"It is never too late. MMR remains the best form of protection against measles, mumps and rubella and it is recognised by WHO as having an outstanding safety record.

"Measles is a very unpleasant illness and we have seen outbreaks in recent years, which highlights the importance of the vaccine"

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