A measles outbreak in north London has infected at least 34 children, with nearly 30 more suspected cases, according to laboratory testing. The cases have been reported across seven schools and a nursery in Enfield, with some children requiring hospital treatment.
Dudu Sher-Arami, Enfield's director of public health, warned of a potential 'much greater and bigger pan-London outbreak' due to low MMR vaccination rates in the capital. She noted that London has 'one of the lowest, if not the lowest, vaccination uptake rates' in the country, and stressed that measles can cause serious complications, including deafness, brain damage, and hospitalisation for one in five children.
Temporary vaccination clinics have been set up in schools and across Enfield, where more than a fifth of children are not fully vaccinated by the age of five. The outbreak comes as the UK was declared no longer measles-free by the World Health Organization last month, following a surge to 3,681 cases in 2024.
National vaccination figures show that 91.9% of five-year-olds had received one dose of the MMR vaccine in 2024-25, the lowest level since 2010-11, while only 83.7% had received both doses, the lowest since 2009-10. A government campaign promoting childhood vaccination is expected to launch next week to counter vaccine scepticism.
