Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this:
In the Sunday Express today, and similarly in other UK media, the above and:
This follows the large outbreak reported two weeks ago in Enfield, London.
In the Daily Mirror, 15 March 2026
A Victorian disease that had been eliminated in the UK has returned in 50 council areas – and a new map has highlighted the low vaccine-rate areas where it is spreading quickly. Measles infections have now been confirmed by lab tests in every region of England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed, mainly among children under 10. Enfield in London appears to be the epicentre of the current outbreak, with 80 confirmed measles cases so far this year. That includes 35 new cases since the last update in February. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/health/measles-spreading-across-50-areas-36862985
Covering the story, BBC UK told us this shocking fact:
Travel between London and Scotland is easy. Travel between Birmingham even easier.
The overall MMR vaccination rate in Birmingham is 75.5% against the WHO 95% target but in certain areas it is even lower.
There have also been serious outbreaks with some deaths of children, in the USA, Canada, Australia and Romania, all with regular flights into Scotland.
As with the UK, France and Spain have lost WHO measles-free status. I don’t need to remind you how much travel there is between Scotland and Spain.
Only Scotland and Wales meet WHO target for measles protection
From Childhood immunisation statistics Scotland Quarter ending 30 September 2025, yesterday:
The first dose of Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is offered between 12 and 13 months old and the second dose at 3 years 4 months old. 92.5% of children had the first dose of MMR vaccine by 24 months of age. This rose to 95.9% for children who had reached age 5. Uptake of the second dose of MMR vaccine by 5 years was 90.6%, rising to 90.9% by age 6 years. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/childhood-immunisation-statistics-scotland/childhood-immunisation-statistics-scotland-quarter-ending-30-september-2025/
From Vaccine update: issue 365, November 2025 published on 26 November 2025:
At age 5, overall UK coverage for the 6 in 1 edged up to 93.2%, but the pre school booster (dTaP/IPV) fell sharply by 1.2%, and MMR2 dropped slightly. Scotland and Wales exceeded the WHO’s 95% target for the 6 in 1 and MMR1, while Northern Ireland achieved strong results just below that threshold. In England, coverage varied by region, with London consistently reporting the lowest rates. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vaccine-update-issue-365-november-2025/vaccine-update-issue-365-november-2025
Why the need for a border?
More than 80% of 2025 cases in Scotland are linked to imports (international or from England/rest of UK), with the remainder of unknown origin or indigenous. This aligns with PHS’s monitoring of UK-wide and European resurgence, where importations threaten under-vaccinated communities. https://news.stv.tv/scotland/measles-cases-rising-in-scotland-amid-global-outbreak-as-travel-warning-issued
No exact number is specified, but PHS explicitly warns that cases imported from the “rest of the UK” (primarily England, due to its large outbreaks in London, the North West, and Birmingham) could seed local outbreaks in Scotland. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-historic-confirmed-cases-notifications-and-deaths/measles-historic-confirmed-cases-notifications-and-deaths
Deaths?
2 last year, 5 the year before, all in England. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-historic-confirmed-cases-notifications-and-deaths/measles-historic-confirmed-cases-notifications-and-deaths
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Talking-up Scotland 
Measles is certainly not a “Victorian” era disease. Like almost everyone else, I had measles in the 1950s, well into the 2nd Elizabethan era after the Edwardian, and Georgian eras.
It was never considered lethal in those days, probably because it was endemic in pre vaccine days. In fact mothers used to arrange measles parties so that children could catch it when young and acquire immunity. Same with chickenpox.
It would be dangerous now for a child to be unvaccinated.
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I also had measles in the 1950s but as far as I was aware the dangers of measles infections – blindness, death – were well understood by parents and grandparents and measles parties were definitely not a thing. Perhaps it was because the parents back then had brothers or sisters or other family members adversely affected by measles infections. Chickenpox parties were talked about in later decades and thus set up children for shingles infections in later life.
Maintaining a high level of vaccination for measles etc is important not only for those who are protected by getting the vaccine but as protection for those who for sound medical reasons cannot be vaccinated. High levels of vaccination, >95% , results in very low levels of the disease in the general population which increases the chances of the unvaccinated avoiding infection.
This was certainly the case with our son. Born in the 1970s he had a very severe egg allergy. At that time the single-dose measles vax was made up in egg albumen so he could not be vaccinated. He managed to get through mother and toddlers, playgroup, nursery and almost completed P1 before he caught measles. He was protected by the high uptake of the measles vaccine in the general population.
It also has to be said that the low levels of uptake of vaccination in parts of England is not a recent phenomenon. Neither is the importation of cases into Scotland.
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I agree – I think the measles parties came later. But we certainly had no fear of blindness or death from measles, mumps or chickenpox in my area. It was just something children caught.
As you say, vaccination is very important now.
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