A local health chief meanwhile told the BBC: “We are worried because actually, this is a significantly increased number than what we’re used to.”<\/p>\n
\u200bAsking unvaccinated, close contacts of measles cases to stay off school is fairly standard practice when there are local outbreaks.<\/p>\n
A local GP surgery said infections had been confirmed in “at least” seven schools in Enfield and neighbouring Haringey.<\/p>\n
The number of cases seen in the area is not out of the ordinary for such outbreaks, which have been occurring reasonably frequently since late 2023.<\/p>\n
Dr Jo Sauvage, the chief medical officer of North Central London Integrated Care Board told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that outbreaks did “happen in pockets across the country”.<\/p>\n
But she said: “Certainly in our area we’ve not seen an increase in number of this degree before.”<\/p>\n
She said some 60 suspected cases had been confirmed – with the majority in schools and nurseries and some children requiring hospital treatment, “particularly those who have not been immunised”.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been working closely to contain the infection, the spread, but also increase public knowledge and awareness,” she said.<\/p>\n
The UK recently lost its World Health Organization measles elimination status<\/a> after over 2,900 cases of measles were confirmed in England in 2024, the highest level for more than a decade.<\/p>\n There were nearly 1,000 cases in 2025.<\/p>\n The outbreak in Enfield comes as the government launches a wider campaign to improve childhood vaccination uptake<\/a> for measles and other jabs for under fives.<\/p>\n [BBC]<\/p>\n Another local GP, Dr Ellie Cannon, said the outbreak was probably the first time she had seen measles at her north London surgery in her 20-year career.<\/p>\n “We’ve definitely got an issue with children being vaccinated and it certainly needs to improve as we’ve seen with this outbreak,” she told BBC Breakfast.<\/p>\n The letter to parents urged families to check their child’s vaccination status – as well as their own – to limit spread of the disease, which can cause serious and potentially life-threatening health complications.<\/p>\n Just 64.3% of five-year-olds in Enfield received both doses of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubela) vaccine in 2024\/25 – one of the lowest rates in the country<\/a> and far below the 95% threshold needed to prevent outbreaks.<\/p>\n National uptake was 84.4% that year, down from a high of 88.8% a decade ago.<\/p>\n![\"Graphic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aa319c7a1d333debb612cf33611399ef.jpeg\"\/)
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