Research and analysis

Confirmed cases of measles in England by month, age, region and upper-tier local authority: 2024

Updated 19 December 2024

Applies to England

England measles epidemiology 2024

This report describes measles epidemiology in England from 1 January 2024.

Situational update

Since 1 January 2024, there have been 2,836 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England, an increase of 129 cases since the last report on 21 November 2024 (Figures 1 and 2). There was a rapid increase in cases in late 2023 driven by a large outbreak in Birmingham, with subsequent rises in London and small clusters in other regions. However, case counts have followed a downward trajectory since mid-July. Small, localised outbreaks continue and are currently affecting the South West and Yorkshire and Humber regions.

2024 summary

The number of laboratory confirmed measles cases by month of symptom onset in 2024 to date are:

• January: 278
• February: 279
• March: 334
• April: 389
• May: 396
• June: 314
• July: 341
• August: 170
• September: 100
• October: 74
• November: 126
• December: 35

The UKHSA data dashboard provides tabular data on the total number of cases by week of onset in 2024.

The majority (1,722 of 2,836, 61%) of these cases were in children aged 10 years and under, and 32% (911 of 2,836) were in young people and adults aged 15 years and over (Table 1). 46% (1,295 of 2,836) of these cases have been in London, 20% (562 of 2,836) in the West Midlands, and 9% (244 of 2,836) in the East of England. 136 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 (364 of 2,836, 13%), Lambeth (178 of 2,836, 6%) and Wandsworth (151 of 2,836, 5%) (Table 2a).

The vaccination status of all confirmed cases is published quarterly in the related health protection reports.

During the first quarter of 2024, one acute measles-related death occurred in a young person who was known to have other medical conditions. Information on historical measles-related deaths is available on the notifications and deaths webpage.

Recent activity

There have been 93 laboratory confirmed measles cases with symptom onset date in the 4 weeks since 18 November 2024. The South West accounted for the highest proportion of these cases (38%, 35 of 93). 29% (27 of 93) of cases have been in the Yorkshire and Humber, and 14% (13 of 93) in London. Data reporting lags have the greatest impact on the most recent 4 weeks and therefore the reported figures are likely to underestimate activity. 29 UTLAs have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since 18 November 2024, with the highest number of cases reported in Leeds (n=25) and Bristol (n=21) (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 16 December 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 16 December 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 16 December 2024 [note 3]

Age group	East Midlands	East of England	London	North East	North West	South East	South West	West Midlands	Yorkshire and Humber	England
Under 1 year	12	24	151	15	11	15	7	70	18	323
1 to 4 years	54	66	319	16	22	16	7	157	34	691
5 to 10 years	65	61	361	20	13	13	12	116	47	708
11 to 14 years	23	18	78	7	5	8	6	49	9	203
15 to 24 years	22	27	122	4	12	16	20	84	16	323
25 to 34 years	15	27	144	8	17	26	17	47	15	316
35 years and over	13	21	120	9	17	26	16	39	11	272
Total	204	244	1,295	79	97	120	85	562	150	2,836

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 16 December 2024 [note 4]

Upper tier local authority (UTLA)	Region	Total cases
Birmingham	West Midlands	364
Lambeth	London	178
Wandsworth	London	151
Leicester	East Midlands	124
Harrow	London	99
Croydon	London	98
Brent	London	75
Hertfordshire	East of England	75
Essex	East of England	66
Enfield	London	64
Leeds	Yorkshire and Humber	63
Middlesbrough	North East	55
Southwark	London	55
Walsall	West Midlands	55
Lewisham	London	43
Hillingdon	London	42
Merton	London	42
Surrey	South East	40
Ealing	London	35
Hounslow	London	34
Bristol, City of	South West	33
Waltham Forest	London	32
Sandwell	West Midlands	31
Barnet	London	30
Coventry	West Midlands	28
Greenwich	London	26
Newham	London	26
Haringey	London	25
Kensington and Chelsea	London	25
Luton	East of England	25
Camden	London	24
Hammersmith and Fulham	London	24
Gloucestershire	South West	23
Sutton	London	23
Westminster	London	23
Wolverhampton	West Midlands	22
Bexley	London	20
Bradford	Yorkshire and Humber	20
Hackney	London	19
Lancashire	North West	19
Milton Keynes	East of England	19
Nottingham	East Midlands	19
Central Bedfordshire	East of England	17
West Northamptonshire	East Midlands	17
Manchester	North West	16
Solihull	West Midlands	16
Tower Hamlets	London	16
Hampshire	South East	14
Leicestershire	East Midlands	14
Doncaster	Yorkshire and Humber	13
Southampton	South East	13
Staffordshire	West Midlands	13
Thurrock	East of England	13
Kingston upon Thames	London	12
Redbridge	London	12
Bromley	London	11
Islington	London	11
Kent	South East	11
Kingston upon Hull, City of	Yorkshire and Humber	11
Stockport	North West	11
North Northamptonshire	East Midlands	10
North Yorkshire	Yorkshire and Humber	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: 18 November 2024 to 16 December 2024 [note 5]

Upper tier local authority (UTLA)	Region	Total cases
Leeds	Yorkshire and Humber	25
City of Bristol	South West	21

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

Please note that this page will be updated every 4 weeks. The next scheduled update is 16 January 2025.