A MUM is urging parents to get their children vaccinated after her daughter died of a devastating complication of measles.
Renae Archer, from Salford, was too young for the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) jab when she caught the infection at five months old.
Renae, here with her mum Rebecca, died aged 10 from complications of measles[/caption]
Renae contracted measles when she was just five months old[/caption]
She had seemingly recovered well and grew up perfectly “fit and healthy,” her mum Rebecca said.
But a decade later, 10-year-old Renae started suffering seizures at school and was diagnosed with a very rare brain disease called subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE).
It had been triggered by her previous measles infection, which had laid dormant for all that time.
A scan found swelling in her brain, and she slowly deteriorated to the point she was unable to speak, eat or keep her eyes open.
The youngster died in September 2023.
“It took three days for Renae to stop breathing, and I think that was the worst,” Rebecca told ITV.
“It was just horrendous watching her.”
The mum was warned by doctors that the condition was “going to be fatal”, and the family had to decide to switch off Renae’s life support.
Rebecca is speaking out after a child with measles died at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
Around 16 other children have been treated at the hospital – which is in the grip of an outbreak – after becoming severely unwell.
Health officials warn that low uptake of the MMR jab threatens further spread of what is one of the world’s most infectious diseases.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Dr Mary Ramsay, from the UK Health and Security Agency, said: “Measles is always serious.
“Most children will have a mild illness, but it spreads so quickly that it’s very difficult to keep on top of it; it is such an infectious disease.
“Even one or two cases poses a threat to everyone in that community who hasn’t been protected by vaccination because just passing someone in the street or very casual contact is enough to spread the infection.”
Symptoms – which include a cough, runny or blocked nose, white spots in the mouth, a blotchy red rash and a fever – can last for several weeks, but the complications can continue for years.
In the UK, one in every 25,000 unvaccinated children who catch measles will develop SSPE, which almost always results in death.
Most people with this disease die between one and three years after diagnosis when the brain stops being able to control vital organs.
If there wasn’t an outbreak and more kids had their vaccinations, then she wouldn’t have got the measles in the first place
Rebecca Archer
There had been outbreaks across the UK at the time Renae caught the virus, with about 1,000 suspected cases in Greater Manchester.
According to research from the UK Health Security Agency, just under 400 cases were confirmed in laboratory tests.
At the same time, MMR vaccine uptake was at its lowest level in 12 years.
Nationally, only 84 per cent of under-fives had had both doses of the vaccine in 2023/24.
This drops to just 61 per cent in some parts of London.
To ensure herd immunity, where enough people are protected to prevent the virus spreading, vaccination rates must hit 95 per cent.
There is no cure for SSPE, but like measles, it can be prevented with the MMR jab.
Renae was too young for the vaccine as she was under 12 months.
Children are given their first dose when they are one and their second at three years and four months, before they start school.
“If there wasn’t an outbreak and more kids had their vaccinations, then she wouldn’t have got the measles in the first place,” Rebecca said.
“And it wouldn’t have ultimately ended her life.”
She added: “It’s like a nightmare. It’s still hard to believe that’s why Renae’s not here anymore – because of having the measles 10 years earlier.
“She was poorly for a few days. After that, everything went back to normal – she was fit and healthy.”
Dr Manisha Kumar, the chief medical officer for NHS Greater Manchester, hopes Rebecca’s story will encourage people to check their child’s vaccination status.
Rebecca said if more children were vaccinated, her daughter wouldn’t have died[/caption]
She said: “Rebecca’s story is one example of many, that illustrate why we need to urgently reverse the decline in the uptake of childhood vaccinations, in order to protect not only ourselves and our families, but our wider communities.
“We hope that through brave people like Rebecca coming forward with their personal stories.
“Combined with the multi-media campaign, it will serve as a reminder that these diseases have not gone away.
“It will encourage parents and guardians to check their children’s vaccination status and book appointments if any immunisations have been missed.
“Two doses of the MMR vaccine are needed to get life-long protection against measles, mumps and rubella.
“Simply by ensuring you have both doses you not only protect you and your family against the illness, but also those who you come into contact with who may be vulnerable.”
Expert answers MMR questions
TO help deal with parental concerns, Professor Helen Bedford, a specialist in child public health at University College London, tells you all you need to know about the MMR vaccine.
When is the vaccine given?
The MMR vaccine is part of the NHS Routine Childhood Immunisation Programme.
It’s typically given via a single shot into the muscle of the thigh or the upper arm.
The first dose is offered to children at the age of one (babies younger than this may have some protection from antibodies passed on from their mother, which start to wear off at about 12 months.)
The second dose is then offered to children aged three years and four months before they start school.
To check to see if you or your child have had the recommended two doses of MMR, you can look at their/your Personal Child Health Record, also known as the red book.
If you can’t find the red book, call your GP and ask them for your vaccine records.
You are never too old to catch up with your MMR vaccine.
If you see from your vaccination records that you did not receive two doses as a child, you can book a vaccination appointment.
Is the vaccine safe?
The MMR vaccine is safe and effective at preventing measles, mumps and rubella.
In the UK, we started using the jab in 1988, so we have decades of experience using it.
The jab is made from much-weakened live versions of the three viruses.
This triggers the immune system to produce antibodies that are protective in the face of future exposure.
It takes up to three weeks after having the vaccine to be fully protected.
Like any vaccine, the MMR jab can cause side-effects, which are usually mild and go away very quickly.
This includes rash, high temperature, loss of appetite and a general feeling of being unwell for about two or three days.
There is also a very small chance children can have a severe allergic reaction.
But compared to the complications of measles, there is no contest that vaccination is by far the safest and most effective route to take.
Why was it linked with autism?
In 1998, Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues published a now-discredited paper in medical journal The Lancet.
The paper suggested that the MMR vaccine might be associated with autism and a form of bowel disease.
It led to a sharp decline in vaccination rates.
Even at the time, the research was considered poor.
The Lancet retracted the story in 2010 after Wakefield’s article was found “dishonest” by the General Medical Council.
He was later struck off and subsequently, in 2011, the British Medical Journal declared the story fraudulent.
Does it contain ingredients from pigs?
There are two types of MMR jabs: One with gelatin (animal/pig collagen), and one without it.
For some religious groups, the inclusion of pig products is not acceptable.
Those people should ask for the vaccine without gelatin
