The National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHS) has declared an outbreak of measles on a Merthyr Tydfil estate following a sudden cluster of cases in residents.

Twelve cases of measles have recently been reported on the Gellideg estate, seven of which developed symptoms in the past fortnight and five of which have been confirmed by laboratory testing. Other suspected cases are currently being investigated.

 

None of the cases has received immunisation with the MMR vaccine, and the NPHS is urging local parents whose children are not vaccinated against measles – which can prove fatal – by taking action immediately.

 

The outbreak comes as the number of cases of measles across Wales continues to grow, with 371 cases of measles in 20 Welsh counties reported as of 30 July.

 

The NPHS has written to GPs across Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf to ask them to be alert to patients with symptoms of measles and to help encourage patients to come forward for vaccination.

 

Dr Gwen Lowe, Consultant in Communicable Disease Control for the NPHS, said: “This is the first true cluster of measles that we have seen in Merthyr for many years.  It is affecting children of both primary and secondary school age and we are concerned that the outbreak will quickly spread beyond the estate.

 

“Given the alarming increase in measles across Wales this year, we have continually urged parents to ensure their children have received the full two doses of the MMR vaccine, but parents in the Merthyr Tydfil area now need to take particular care to ensure their children are protected.”

 

Children should receive their first dose of the vaccine at 13 months of age and the second at around three years and four months of age.  

 

Anyone in Wales who should have received two doses of MMR but has missed out remains at risk of catching measles.

 

Dr Lowe added: “For as long as there are children who do not receive their MMR vaccinations, there is the potential for people to become ill with measles. It is a serious disease and sadly children do die from this infection . Complications are common and rarely can include brain damage.”

 

“MMR is a safe vaccine that protects children from the most severe viral rash illness of childhood.”

 

“The people most at risk of catching measles are children of school age or children between the ages of one and four who are not up-to-date with their vaccinations.  Although we are seeing cases of measles in adults, it is rare for anyone born before 1970 to catch measles.”

 

Many people who catch measles will have a fever, cough, red eyes, and blocked nose and feel generally unwell. The blotchy rash appears a few days later beginning on the face and spreading downwards to the rest of the body over several days.

 

Typically, people will be infectious from the day before their first symptoms until four to five days after the appearance of the rash.

 

Dr Lowe added: “If your child is unwell and you suspect it is measles, you should contact your GP. Your child should not attend school or nursery for five days after the rash starts. 

  

“After completing a two-dose course of the MMR vaccine – which also offers protection against mumps and rubella - 99 per cent of children will be protected against measles.”

 

More information about measles is available from the NPHS website at: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/page.cfm?orgId=719&pid=23148