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Number of measles cases drops in England and Wales

New figures from Public Health England (PHE) show a drop of more than 25 per cent in the number of reported cases of measles in Q1 2019 in England and Wales compared to Q1 2018 in England and Wales (cases confirmed by oral fluid IgM antibody tests and/or PCR).

The figures show that 552 cases were reported in Q1 2019, of which 126.6 per cent were tested, with 30.6 per cent testing positive. In Q1 2018, the number of unconfirmed reported cases was 705.

Data on confirmed (by both oral fluid IgM antibody tests and/or PCR and others) cases of measles in England and Wales by age (2012-2018) show infants <1 year (n=107) and children aged 1-4 years (n=162) continue to be the most affected age groups, with children ≤4 years accounting for more than 27 per cent of the total (n=989). The number of confirmed cases spiked again at the age of 15-19 years (n=128) and again in those aged 35 years and older (n=151).

PHE has also published provisional data which shows that the number of cases of mumps reported in England and Wales has dropped sharply in the last decade. In 2008, 2,405 cases of mumps were confirmed compared to 1,088 cases in 2018 (55% decrease). Additionally, the number of confirmed cases of rubella recorded in 2018 was three. This compares to 27 confirmed cases in 2008. Measles, mumps and rubella laboratory confirmation included tests on serum and oral fluid samples.


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