Epidemic as mumps cases soar

London is today at the centre of warnings over a mumps epidemic. New figures show a 400per cent rise in reported cases in England and Wales last year.

Parents shunning the MMR jab for their children and a vulnerable group of young adults who were too old to be vaccinated has allowed the disease to take hold again. It can cause permanent deafness, viral meningitis and inflammation of the brain.

Although figures are not broken down into regions, experts say the capital is more at risk because of the low take-up of the combined MMR jab. In London only 60 per cent of children have had the vaccine.

Two studies in the British Medical Journal say Britain is in the grip of a mumps epidemic, with nearly 5,000 cases reported in January alone. Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust said most patients are aged 19 to 23 and there is now a threat among under-immunised children.

Last year notifications rose to 16,436, up from 4,204 in 2003. Of these, 8,104 were confirmed, compared with 3,907 in the previous five years. In London there were 567, double the number in 2002.