Around one in five UK healthcare workers may not be fully immunised against measles, new research suggests.
In a letter published in The Lancet, immunology experts examined measles immunity in two groups of healthcare workers. The first were from NHS hospitals across the UK (median age 51) and the second larger and younger group were recruited to the study from University Hospitals Birmingham (median age 42).
The findings showed that among the larger group, 13% of participants lacked measles antibodies, with a further 7.5% having borderline antibody status. Unusually for immunity say the authors, the younger the member of staff, the more likely they were to have a negative antibody result.
The researchers suggest that being unvaccinated was the probable cause, as there had been so few measles cases until recently. It’s likely that unfounded concerns about MMR vaccine safety in 1998 compromised vaccine uptake in those born after 1998, they wrote.
The researchers said that further work is needed to understand whether the groups studied are representative of the wider healthcare workforce in the UK, though the authors believe the findings are likely to be representative of immunity within the NHS workforce.
Lead author Professor Alex Richter said: ‘Measles cases are currently at high levels across the country. Our new research highlights a concerning gap in measles immunity among healthcare workers, who may unwittingly be putting themselves and vulnerable populations at avoidable risk.’
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