A child has tragically died in hospital after contracting measles – amid fears the disease could spread like ‘wildfire’ as vaccine rates plunge.
The child, whose identity has not been revealed, passed away at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool and is understood to have been suffering from other health complications.
It comes days after parents described feeling concerned as several children in Merseyside were hospitalised due to the spread of the virus.
Officials described the children as ‘seriously unwell’, with doctors warning lives could be put at risk because youngsters are not being vaccinated.
One in four children are understood to be unprotected in Liverpool, despite measles being highly infectious and remaining contagious for 10 days.
In Liverpool, where vaccine uptake is considerably low, around 288 out of every 1,000 people are susceptible to the virus.
While the vaccination status of the child who died is unknown, the measles vaccine is understood to offer 97 per cent protection against the potentially fatal illness.
A child has died in hospital after contracting measles – marking the second death due to an acute infection of the disease in Britain this decade (Stock photo)
Professor Matt Ashton, Liverpool’s director of public health, said: ‘I’m extremely worried that the potential is there for measles to really grab hold in our community.
‘My concern is the unprotected population and it spreading like wildfire. That’s why we’re trying to be proactive.
‘It’s really important that people understand the seriousness of this.’
Initial symptoms of measles include a runny nose, high temperature, sneezing, coughing, and sore, watery eyes.
A rash usually appears a few days later, first on the face before spreading onto the body.
NHS guidance states: ‘It’s very unlikely to be measles if you’ve had both doses of the MMR vaccine or you’ve had measles before.’
