PHE calls on anyone travelling to Romania, Italy and Germany this Christmas to ensure they are up to date with their MMR jab

Public Health England is urging anyone planning to travel to Europe this winter to make sure they are up to date with their MMR vaccines.

Unvaccinated people travelling to Romania, Italy and Germany, where there are currently large measles outbreaks, are at particularly high risk.

Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can be very unpleasant and can sometimes lead to serious complications.

The MMR vaccine is available to all adults and children who are not up to date with their two doses. Anyone who is not sure if they are protected should check with their GP practice.

Recent measles outbreaks in Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester and Surrey are all linked to the ongoing large outbreaks in Europe.

PHE local health protection teams are working closely with the NHS and local authorities to raise awareness of the outbreaks with health professionals and local communities.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at PHE said,

“It is never too late to have the MMR vaccine. We encourage people to ensure they are up to date with both doses before travelling to countries with outbreaks over the Christmas period.

“The UK recently achieved WHO measles elimination status and so the overall risk of measles to the UK population is low. The ongoing measles outbreaks in Europe remain a challenge and as we have seen with the recent linked outbreaks in England, we will continue to see cases in unimmunised individuals with limited onward spread in communities with low MMR coverage and in age groups with very close mixing.

“Parents should also ensure they take up the offer of MMR vaccination for their children at 1 year of age and as a pre-school booster at 3 years and 4 months of age.”

Adults and children need to have two doses of MMR vaccine to be fully protected. The MMR vaccine can be given from six months of age before travel to a high risk country.

 Anyone planning to travel over the Christmas period should check NaTHNaC travel health advice.