Measles: half a million British children missed the ball

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A child vaccinated against measles — Legend

Experts say children should receive two doses of measles vaccine to fully protect themselves from the disease

More than half a million British children have not received a crucial measles vaccine between 2010 and 2017, reveals an analysis of the Unicef Children's Charity Foundation.

That happens when NHS chief Simon Stevens warned that measles cases had almost quadrupled in England in just one year and urged families to get vaccinated.

He added that people who refused vaccines were a "public health time bomb".

According to the report, 169 million children in the world have not received a first dose of measles vaccine between 2010 and 2017.

& # 39; Alarming & # 39;

Measles is a highly infectious viral disease that can lead to serious health complications, including lung and brain infections, and is sometimes fatal.

Health experts believe that children should receive two doses of the vaccine to fully protect themselves from the disease.

But, according to Unicef, a mixture of complacency, misinformation, skepticism about vaccinations and lack of access to vaccines has led to inadequate vaccination rates globally.

The report shows that between 2010 and 2017:

The United States tops the number of unvaccinated children in high-income countries, with 2,593,000 missing the first dose of vaccine

The comparable figure for France was 600,000

The United Kingdom comes third with 527,000 children who have not received their first dose of vaccine over the seven-year period.

In Nigeria, four million children under one year old have not received the first dose of the vaccine

The figures for the second dose of measles vaccine "were even more alarming," Unicef said.

He found that 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa had not introduced a second dose, which exposed more than 17 million infants annually to an increased risk of contracting measles as children.

Legend of the media"Measles destroyed my daughter's life"

& # 39; Alarm clock & # 39;

Henrietta Fore, director general of Unicef, said: "The measles virus will always find unvaccinated children.

"If we really want to prevent the spread of this dangerous but preventable disease, we must vaccinate all children, in rich and poor countries alike."

Professor Beate Kampmann of the School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London called these figures "awakening".

She said: "One thing is certain though: a single person with measles will be able to infect 90 unimmunized people.

"Measles is very contagious, even before the appearance of the typical rash, so you can not just get away from it.

"We need to protect children and communities from this potentially very serious but entirely preventable infectious disease – and the only way to do that is through immunization."

Public Health England said that although the overall risk for the UK public is small, unvaccinated people are at risk of contracting the disease while epidemics continue in Europe.

Legend of the mediaSmitha Mundasad, BBC Health correspondent, explains the measles epidemic in the United States

Ukraine, Madagascar and India have been the most affected by the disease so far this year, with tens of thousands of cases reported per million inhabitants.

Outbreaks also affected Brazil, Pakistan and Yemen, while the number of cases increased significantly in the United States and Thailand.

In Greater Manchester, more cases were recorded this year compared to the previous two years combined.

NHS chief Simon Stevens warned that "denialists of vaccination" were gaining ground on social media, leading to the spread of misleading information.

Health and Social Affairs Secretary Matt Hancock has called for new legislation to force social media companies to remove content promoting false information about vaccines.

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