Public Health England: music festivals 'are measles hotspots'

"Music festivals including Glastonbury have become a hotbed of measles this summer, Public Health England has warned," BBC News reports. The public health body have called on young people to check their vaccination status before attending an event. Public Health England (PHE) say there have been 38 suspected measles cases reported in people who attended events in June and July. As there are a number of big musical festivals coming up, such as the Reading Festival, there are concerns that there could be further outbreaks. What is measles? Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can be very unpleasant and sometimes lead to serious complications.  Anyone can get measles if they haven't been vaccinated or they haven't had it before, although it's most common in young children. The initial symptoms of measles develop around 10 days after you're infected. These can include: cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, sneezing, and a cough sore, red eyes that may be sensitive to light a high temperature (fever), which may reach around 40C (104F) small greyish-white spots on the inside of the cheeks A few days later, a red-brown blotchy rash will appear. This usually starts on the head or upper neck, before spreading outwards to the rest of the body. Isn't measles a thing of the past? Measles is now uncommon in the UK because of the effectiveness of vaccination. But a plausible hypothesis is that we may see more cases in the coming months bec...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Pregnancy/child QA articles Source Type: news