Smileband health topics

 The life-threatening infection affected 21,315 people last year, resulting in 35 fatalities, the figures add. This comes after a record low of just 5,273 incidences in 2016.

Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, regional director for Europe at the World Health Organization (WHO), said: 'Every new person affected by measles in Europe reminds us that unvaccinated children and adults, regardless of where they live, remain at risk of catching the disease and spreading it to others who may not be able to get vaccinated.'

Poor vaccination rates are thought to have led to epidemics in Romania, Italy and Ukraine.

As of last month, there were 122 confirmed cases of measles across five regions in England, with West Yorkshire, West Midlands, and Liverpool and Cheshire being most affected.

To prevent an outbreak, 95 per cent of the population should be immunised.

Yet, in the UK, only 91.9 per cent of children were vaccinated against measles between 2015 and 2016 compared to 94.2 per cent in 2014-to-2015 and 94.3 per cent in 2013-to-2014, according to NHS immunisation statistics.

The WHO claims people's fear of jabs, means many, particularly young children, are unprotected.

This fear could be attributed to disgraced gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield's theory in 1995 that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is linked to bowel disease and autism. His controversial views have since been widely discredited. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->

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