National Measles Outbreak Letter

Date:                25 May 2018
My ref:
Your ref:
Contact:           Dr Andrew Burnett
Telephone:       01275 888200
Email:  andrew.burnett@n-somerset.gov.uk

Public Health Team
North Somerset Council
Castlewood
Tickenham Road
Clevedon, BS21 6FW

To all North Somerset GPs and GP practice managers

Dear Colleague

National measles outbreak: implications for North Somerset

A national measles outbreak has been declared. I am writing to ask for your help in dealing with this.

What has happened?

Between 1 January and 8 May 2018 there have been 440 laboratory-confirmed cases of measles in the UK including 42 in the South West of which five have been in North Somerset. Nationally, these infections are thought to have mostly come from travellers from Europe where measles continues to be an issue (see here). The people affected are mostly young children and older ones who missed their MMR immunisations.

What am I asking you to do?

If you suspect that a patient may have measles please contact the health protection team at Public Health England in or out of hours on 0300 303 8162 (choose option 1 and then option 2) and/or email them at agwarc@phe.gov.uk. This is a most important aspect of helping to control the spread of the disease. Communicable disease control specialists there will advise on what needs to be done and assist in this. Further information about your statutory notification duty can be found here.

Please recommend MMR immunisation to any of your patients who have not had a complete course; we have a pretty good uptake of the first MMR dose in this area but it remains low for the second one.

Health care workers have also developed measles. Are all your clinicians and relevant staff protected? The CQC considers that all healthcare workers and others with direct contact with patients (such as receptionists) should be up to date with their immunisations in order to protect vulnerable people of all types and in all care settings (see here).

What else is being done in North Somerset?

Public Health England and I are writing to local school head teachers asking them to encourage Year-13 pupils to get up to date with their immunisations, especially MMR and meningitis. The local health protection team is also managing a recent measles infection in a young child in the Clevedon area.

More information

NHS Choices provides information about measles suitable for the public (see here) including good pictures of measles rashes and Koplik spots. Guidance for health care professionals can be found here and here, with Green Book advice on measles and MMR immunisation here.

I am grateful for your help over this.

With best wishes

Dr Andrew Burnett MRCGP, FFPH

Interim Director for Public Health