Confirmed cases of measles in England by month, age, region and upper tier local authority: 2024
Updated 29 August 2024
Applies to England
England measles epidemiology 2024
This report describes measles epidemiology in England from 1 January 2024. The summary of cases for 2023 can be found on the measles epidemiology 2023 page.
Situational update
Since 1 January 2024, there have been 2,387 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England, an increase of 109 cases since the last report on 15 August 2024 (Figures 1 and 2)[footnote 1]. There was a rapid increase in cases in late 2023 driven by a large outbreak in Birmingham but this has now decreased to lower levels. There has subsequently been a rise in cases in London and small clusters in other regions.
2024 summary
The following number of cases have been reported: 276 cases were reported in January, 276 in February, 332 in March, 390 in April, 395 in May, 312 in June, 318 in July and 88 so far in August. The UKHSA data dashboard provides tabular data on the total number of cases by week of onset in 2024.
The majority (1,473 out of 2,387, 62%) of these cases were in children aged 10 years and under, and 31% (749 out of 2,387) were in young people and adults aged 15 years and over (Table 1).
47% (1,121 out of 2,387) of these cases have been in London, 23% (544 out of 2,387) in the West Midlands, and 8% (182 out of 2,387) in the East Midlands. A total of 130 upper tier local authorities (UTLAs) have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since January 2024, with the highest numbers reported in Birmingham (355 out of 2,387, 15%), Lambeth (167 out of 2,387, 7%) and Wandsworth (140 out of 2,387, 6%) (Table 2a).
The vaccination status of all confirmed cases is published quarterly in the related health protection reports.
Recent activity
In the 4 weeks since 29 July 2024, there have been 122 confirmed cases. Data reporting lags have had the greatest impact on the most recent 4 weeks and therefore the reported figures are likely to underestimate activity. London accounted for the highest proportion of these (73%, 89 out of 122). 14% (17 out of 122) of cases have been in the South East, and 8% (10 out of 122) in the West Midlands. 38 UTLAs have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since 29 July 2024, with the highest number of cases reported in Lambeth (n=22), Croydon (n=18) and Southwark (n=13) (Table 2b).
Figure 1. Laboratory confirmed cases of measles by month of onset of rash or symptoms reported, London and England 1 January 2012 to 26 August 2024 [notes 1 and 2]
Figure 2. Laboratory confirmed cases of measles by week of onset of rash or symptoms reported, London, West Midlands and England: 1 January 2024 to 26 August 2024 [notes 1 and 2]
Note 1: Cases confirmed through either local or reference laboratory testing.
Note 2: Data is provisional and subject to change as:
- more suspected cases undergo confirmatory testing
- some locally tested cases are discarded after confirmatory testing at the reference laboratory
The data reporting lag has had the greatest impact on the most recent 4 weeks and therefore the reported figures are likely to underestimate activity. For this reason, these data points are represented by dotted lines.
Table 1. Laboratory confirmed cases of measles by age group and region in England: 1 January 2024 to 26 August 2024 [note 3]
Age group (years) | East Midlands | East of England | London | North East | North West | South East | South West | West Midlands | Yorkshire and Humber | England |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Under 1 | 9 | 20 | 130 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 70 | 9 | 278 |
1 to 4 | 50 | 55 | 277 | 16 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 147 | 19 | 599 |
5 to 10 | 61 | 45 | 317 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 112 | 15 | 596 |
11 to 14 | 20 | 8 | 68 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 3 | 165 |
15 to 24 | 19 | 14 | 104 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 3 | 81 | 11 | 259 |
25 to 34 | 12 | 14 | 122 | 8 | 17 | 21 | 9 | 47 | 13 | 263 |
35 and over | 11 | 15 | 103 | 10 | 16 | 18 | 4 | 39 | 11 | 227 |
Total | 182 | 171 | 1,121 | 78 | 89 | 93 | 28 | 544 | 81 | 2,387 |
Note 3: Data is provisional and subject to change as:
- more suspected cases undergo confirmatory testing
- some locally tested cases are discarded after confirmatory testing at the reference laboratory
Table 2a. Number of laboratory-confirmed measles cases by region and upper tier local authority (UTLA), England: 1 January 2024 to 26 August 2024 [note 4]
Upper tier local authority (UTLA) | Region | Total cases |
---|---|---|
Birmingham | West Midlands | 355 |
Lambeth | London | 167 |
Wandsworth | London | 140 |
Leicester | East Midlands | 123 |
Harrow | London | 95 |
Croydon | London | 83 |
Hertfordshire | East of England | 66 |
Brent | London | 63 |
Middlesbrough | North East | 55 |
Walsall | West Midlands | 55 |
Enfield | London | 46 |
Southwark | London | 44 |
Merton | London | 40 |
Hillingdon | London | 38 |
Ealing | London | 32 |
Hounslow | London | 31 |
Surrey | South East | 30 |
Lewisham | London | 29 |
Coventry | West Midlands | 27 |
Greenwich | London | 26 |
Sandwell | West Midlands | 26 |
Luton | East of England | 25 |
Newham | London | 25 |
Barnet | London | 24 |
Hammersmith and Fulham | London | 23 |
Waltham Forest | London | 23 |
Kensington and Chelsea | London | 22 |
Westminster | London | 22 |
Wolverhampton | West Midlands | 22 |
Camden | London | 20 |
Lancashire | North West | 19 |
Milton Keynes | East of England | 19 |
Sutton | London | 19 |
Bexley | London | 18 |
Haringey | London | 18 |
Bradford | Yorkshire and Humber | 17 |
Central Bedfordshire | East of England | 17 |
Solihull | West Midlands | 15 |
Essex | East of England | 14 |
Manchester | North West | 14 |
Doncaster | Yorkshire and Humber | 13 |
Staffordshire | West Midlands | 13 |
Nottingham | East Midlands | 12 |
Southampton | South East | 12 |
Thurrock | East of England | 12 |
Hackney | London | 11 |
Leicestershire | East Midlands | 11 |
Stockport | North West | 11 |
Kingston upon Hull, City of | Yorkshire and Humber | 10 |
Kingston upon Thames | London | 10 |
West Northamptonshire | East Midlands | 10 |
Note 4: Case counts have been suppressed to not present any UTLAs with fewer than 10 cases. Data is provisional and subject to change as:
- more suspected cases undergo confirmatory testing
- some locally tested cases are discarded after obtaining further epidemiological information or undergoing confirmatory testing at the reference laboratory
Table 2b. Number of laboratory confirmed measles cases by region and upper tier local authority (UTLA), England: 29 July 2024 to 26 August 2024 [note 5]
Upper tier local authority (UTLA) | Region | Total cases |
---|---|---|
Lambeth | London | 22 |
Croydon | London | 18 |
Southwark | London | 13 |
Note 5: Case counts have been suppressed to not present any UTLAs with fewer than 10 cases. Data is provisional and subject to change as:
- more suspected cases undergo confirmatory testing
- some locally tested cases are discarded after obtaining further epidemiological information or undergoing confirmatory testing at the reference laboratory
The data reporting lag has had the greatest impact on the most recent 4 weeks and therefore the reported figures are likely to underestimate activity.
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Following the resolution of a methodological issue on the week commencing 19 August, 8 previously confirmed cases have now been discarded. This is due to an update in the immunisation information system data available to us. ↩