MMR plea as measles spreads

An outbreak of measles among children in north London has sparked fears that it could spread across the capital.

At least 12 children in Barnet have now contracted the disease. Two needed hospital treatment for breathing problems.

The new outbreak comes after the number of children infected with measles in Hackney since June rose to almost 300.

Health officials are so worried they have sent out a "vaccine bus" to tour schools in east London, and bosses in Barnet are planning a mass immunisation on Monday.

Experts fear hundreds of children are at risk of contracting the potentially deadly virus because they have not been given both doses of the MMR jab.

They issued a warning last month that jab rates are so low in London, the virus could rampage through the capital.

Only 52 per cent of children in London have been given full protection against measles, mumps and rubella. The figure plunges to one in three in Greenwich. The average for England is 74 per cent.

Dr Andrew Burnett, medical director of Barnet PCT, said: "I urge all parents to have their children fully protected against measles. This very infectious disease has recently caused two Barnet children to need specialist hospital treatment and I want to stop it in its tracks."

The mass vaccination of children in Barnet is due to take place at Broadfields primary school next week, where the outbreak began.

Anxious parents are meeting with specialists from Barnet primary care trust and the Health Protection Agency.

Dr Helen Maguire, consultant epidemiologist with the Health Protection Agency in London, said: "It is crucial that children are fully immunised with two doses of MMR before they return to school.

"MMR is a safe, effective vaccine which will protect children against measles. Two doses give much better protection and it's never too late to get vaccinated."

The number of parents seeking the MMR jab dropped dramatically after a study in 1998 linked it to autism. But the report by Dr Andrew Wakefield - on 12 children - has since been discredited and vaccination rates are climbing slowly back up.

Measles can be caught by contact or through the air. Symptoms include fever, runny nose and white spots in the mouth.