Current Impact of Measles in the United Kingdom

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Abstract
Annual measles notifications in the United Kingdom continue to exceed 100,000 despite the introduction in 1968 of routine measles vaccination for children aged one to two years. One in 5,000 children with notified cases of measles die; complications of the disease remain similar in incidence and severity to those observed in 1963. The overall vaccine acceptance of 50% has reduced notifications of disease primarily among children aged one to four and five to nine years. In areas where vaccination acceptance is higher than the national average, there has been a reduction in notifications for all age groups. Schwarz strain vaccine, which has been in use since 1968, has been shown to give protection lasting up to 16 years. Despite the reduction in the incidence of measles and the low acceptance of vaccine, no apparent increase has been found in the number of 11-year-old children susceptible to measles, a finding demonstrated by an unchanging percentage of children with measles antibody from 1974–1981.

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