Parents in north London have been told their children could be excluded from school if they are not fully vaccinated against measles amid an outbreak of the highly-contagious disease.
Unvaccinated pupils identified as close contacts of people with measles could be excluded for 21 days in accordance with national guidelines, Enfield Council said in a letter to all parents in the borough in late January.
At least 34 children have contracted measles in Enfield so far this year, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said, and a number sent to hospital.
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. »
Asking unvaccinated, close contacts of measles cases to stay off school is fairly standard practice when there are local outbreaks.
A local GP surgery said infections had been confirmed in « at least » seven schools in Enfield and neighbouring Haringey.
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.
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 ».
But she said: « Certainly in our area we’ve not seen an increase in number of this degree before. »
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 ».
« We’ve been working closely to contain the infection, the spread, but also increase public knowledge and awareness, » she said.
The UK recently lost its World Health Organization measles elimination status after over 2,900 cases of measles were confirmed in England in 2024, the highest level for more than a decade.
There were nearly 1,000 cases in 2025.
The outbreak in Enfield comes as the government launches a wider campaign to improve childhood vaccination uptake for measles and other jabs for under fives.
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.
« 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.
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.
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 and far below the 95% threshold needed to prevent outbreaks.
National uptake was 84.4% that year, down from a high of 88.8% a decade ago.
There are a number of catch-up clinics in the area, where children who have missed their vaccination at school can be immunised for free.
Both Dr Sauvage and Dr Cannon said there were several reasons vaccine uptake had dropped – citing factors such as struggling to arrange appointments, a lack of awareness about the vaccination programme, and concerns around the vaccine itself.
Dr Sauvage said the most important approach was to speak directly to families and « dispel any concerns they have about side effects or problems with the vaccine, which is safe ».
« We talk a lot about vaccine refusers and conspiracy theorists, » said Dr Cannon, but most people are probably « just what we call vaccine hesitant ».
Measles is a highly contagious disease which is spread by coughs and sneezes or by touching things that someone with measles has coughed or sneezed on.
Common symptoms include:
Small white spots may appear inside the mouth.
A blotchy red or brown rash usually appears after a few days, typically behind the ears and on the face, before spreading.
The rash may be harder to detect on brown and black skin.
