A ‘fast-spreading’ measles outbreak has hit schools and nurseries in north London with more than 60 children infected. 

A dozen children have been treated in hospital after seven schools and a nursery in Enfield reported cases.

There are concerns the epidemic could lead to a ‘much greater and bigger pan-London outbreak’ because residents travel across the city.

Dr Dudu Sher-Arami, Enfield’s director of public health, is writing to every parent in the area warning it could spread rapidly across the capital. 

Measles, which typically begins with cold-like symptoms, followed by a rash a few days later, can spread to up to 18 unvaccinated people from a single infected person. 

There are fears the latest London outbreak is linked to low levels of measles, mumps or rubella (MMR) vaccination in the capital. 

A message posted on the NHS Ordnance Unity Centre For Health GP surgery said there was a ‘fast spreading measles outbreak in several schools across Enfield’.

‘Infections have been confirmed across at least seven schools in Enfield and Haringey and it is spreading,’ the GP surgery said.

‘During this recent outbreak, one in five children have been hospitalised due to measles and all of them had not been fully immunised.

‘Parents should ensure that their children are up-to-date with all their immunisations.’  

Dr Sher-Arami told the Sunday Times London has ‘one of the lowest, if not the lowest, vaccination uptake rates’ in the country.

She said: ‘It is possible for it to grow. We know that measles has got some very nasty complications. It can cause deafness. It can cause brain damage and one in five children can need hospital treatment.’

Temporary vaccination clinics are being set up in schools throughout Enfield, where more than one in five children are not vaccinated against MMR.

The UK officially lost its measles elimination status last month after a sharp rise in cases and deaths from the disease.

It came after a plateau in vaccination coverage and a surge in cases, with 3,681 cases recorded in the UK in 2024.

From 2021 to 2023, the UK was considered to have ‘eliminated’ the disease. 

The World Health Organisation recommends at least 95 per cent of children should receive vaccine doses for each illness to achieve herd immunity.

The global health body said measles transmission has been ‘re-established’, following an outbreak in 2024 when there were around 3,600 suspected infections.

Elimination status means there is no continuous transmission of the disease – and experts warned the move was largely expected.

More than 1,000 measles cases have already been recorded in the UK in 2025, while infections across Europe have reached record highs.

In 2024, the UK saw its worst measles outbreak on record, with 3,681 confirmed cases. In July, a child died after contracting the virus.

Officials say the decision reflects a dangerous drop in herd immunity, with vaccine uptake falling below the 95 per cent level needed to prevent sustained outbreaks.

Uptake for the MMR vaccine – which protects against the spread of the disease – is the lowest it has been since the 1990s.

In the UK, London and Birmingham recorded the most cases, with vaccination rates falling as low as 74 per cent leaving thousands of children at risk of contracting the disease.