Confirmed cases of measles in England by month, age and region: 2023
Updated 7 November 2024
Applies to England
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Update on England measles epidemiology
From 1 January to 31 December 2023 there were 362 laboratory confirmed [see note 1] measles cases in England. Activity earlier on in the year was mainly focused in the London region. However, the rapid escalation from the beginning of October was due to an outbreak in the West Midlands.
In 2023, 157 (43%) cases were reported in the West Midlands and 126 (35%) were reported in London, although all regions detected at least one case. Most of the cases in 2023 (n=225 (62%)) were in children aged 10 years and younger and 19% (n=70) were in teenagers and young people aged 15 to 34 years.
Figure 1. Laboratory confirmed cases of measles by month of onset of rash or symptoms reported, London and England: January 2023 to December 2023 [note 1 and 2].
Note 1: Cases confirmed through either local or reference laboratory testing.
Note 2: Six previously confirmed cases were discarded through further testing and epidemiological analysis.
Table 1. Laboratory confirmed cases of measles by age group and Region in England: January 2023 to December 2023
| Age category | East Midlands | East of England | London | North East | North West | South East | South West | West Midlands | Yorkshire | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 4 | 44 |
| 1 to 4 years | 0 | 2 | 34 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 39 | 10 | 98 |
| 5 to 10 years | 0 | 1 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 4 | 83 |
| 11 to 14 years | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 34 |
| 15 to 19 years | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 26 |
| 20 to 24 years | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| 25 to 29 years | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 22 |
| 30 to 34 years | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 13 |
| 35 years and over | 0 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 33 |
| Total | 8 | 7 | 126 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 11 | 157 | 30 | 362 |