Black Triangle

While attention is on Swine Flu, it’s worth remembering that measles continues to be a problem. Over the past few months the number of media stories about measles outbreaks has been increasing. Cases are on the rise. Here’s a graph of laboratory confirmed cases of measles since 1996 obtained from the HPA. The red column is 2009, and only contains cases from January to May 2009, but it looks clear that a new record is going to be set this year.

There were 865 cases from January to May 2009. Last year the equivalent figure was 451. So the scare-mongering about MMR vaccine is going to harvest a bumper crop of measles cases this year. There are now 2 million children at risk of measles.

David Salibury is quoted in The Independent

“The number of cases of measles is on the increase and we need to warn all parents about the potential dangers of this infection. They need to be aware that if their child is not immunised and comes into contact with a child infected with measles, there is around a 90 per cent chance they will catch measles.”

If you haven’t immunised your child with MMR vaccine yet, do so.