Confirmed cases of measles in England by month, age, region and upper-tier local authority: 2023
Updated 13 March 2025
Applies to England
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England measles epidemiology 2023
This report describes measles epidemiology in England from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023.
Summary
From 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 there were 367 laboratory confirmed measles cases. Activity early on in the year was mainly focused in the London region, however, in October there was a rapid escalation in activity driven by a large outbreak in Birmingham.
The majority of the 367 (233 of 267, 63.5%) cases were in children aged 10 years and under, and 26.4% (97 of 367) were in young people and adults aged 15 years and over (Table 1). Although all regions reported at least one case, most cases were reported in the West Midlands (159 of 367, 43.3%), London (125 of 367, 34.1%), and Yorkshire and Humber (30 of 367, 8.2%). 60 upper tier local authorities (UTLAs) reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset in 2023, with the highest numbers reported in Birmingham (118 of 367, 32.2%), Hillingdon (27 of 367, 7.4%) and Tower Hamlets (21 of 367, 5.7%) (Table 2).
No acute measles-related deaths were reported in 2023. Information on historical measles-related deaths is available on the notifications and deaths webpage. The vaccination status of all confirmed cases is published quarterly in the related health protection reports.
Figure 1. Laboratory confirmed cases of measles by week of onset of rash or symptoms reported, London and England: 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 [notes 1]
Note 1: Cases confirmed through either local or reference laboratory testing
Table 1. Laboratory confirmed cases of measles by age group and region in England: 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 [note 2]
| Age group | East Midlands | East of England | London | North East | North West | South East | South West | West Midlands | Yorkshire and Humber | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| less than 1 year | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 4 | 47 |
| 1 to 4 years | 0 | 2 | 36 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 39 | 9 | 99 |
| 5 to 10 years | 1 | 3 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 4 | 87 |
| 11 to 14 years | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 37 |
| 15 to 24 years | 5 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 34 |
| 25 to 34 years | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 30 |
| 35 years and older | 0 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 33 |
| Total | 9 | 9 | 125 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 159 | 30 | 367 |
Note 2: Cases confirmed through either local or reference laboratory testing
Table 2. Number of laboratory confirmed measles cases by region and upper tier local authority (UTLA), England: 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2023 [note 3,4]
| Upper Tier Local Authority | Total cases |
|---|---|
| Birmingham | 118 |
| Hillingdon | 27 |
| Tower Hamlets | 21 |
| Coventry | 19 |
| Sheffield | 14 |
| Ealing | 13 |
| Harrow | 11 |
| Brent | 10 |
Note 3: Cases confirmed through either local or reference laboratory testing
Note 4: Case counts have been suppressed to not present any UTLAs with fewer than 10 cases.