It has slowed down over Summer, but there were still 153 cases in the 4 weeks to 5th August (mostly in London), and 2,278 cases across England since the start of the year.
Measles is nasty and almost entirely preventable by vaccination. Babies, infants and people with less robust immune systems are most at risk of serious illness, permanent damage and death. By taking your child for their MMR, or catching up with your own, you aren't only protecting one person, you are protecting all of those they come into contact with. The MMR has been considered safe and used around the world since 1971 (1988 in the UK).
The world is anticipating a substantial number of Mpox cases in light of the subclade 1b outbreak in Africa.
In 2024 up to 23rd August the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported 19,667 cases (16,706 suspected and 2,961 confirmed) including 575 deaths. Confirmed Mpox cases due to the more catchy and dangerous subclade Ib, and the 'original' subclade 1a have also been reported in 5 of the 8 countries neighbouring DRC:
- Congo (21 confirmed/141 suspected
- Central African Republic (45 confirmed)
- Burundi (190 confirmed/512 suspected)
- Rwanda (4 confirmed)
- Uganda (3 confirmed)
Additionally cases of Mpox 1b have been confirmed in the following countries: Kenya (2), Gabon (1), Sweden (1) and Thailand (1).
Testing is very limited in poorer nations, so case numbers and even fatalities will not show the whole picture.