We must “work together” to tackle a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) epidemic in Croydon. This was the message from the council’s director of public health at a meeting this week.

It is thought the three highly contagious diseases are spreading partly because just 67% of five-year-olds in Croydon had both doses of the MMR vaccination in 2017/18.

This is nearly the lowest rate in London, coming in just above Merton where the rate was 66.7%.

This is well below World Health Organisation recommendations.

The WHO says a 95% vaccination uptake rate, with two doses of MMR by age five, is needed to achieve “hard immunity” – meaning that a virus can’t be passed on within a community.

Director of Public Health Croydon, Rachel Flowers, said: “All of us must have a remit around immunisation and health improvement.

“The only way we can get herd immunity is we all have to do our part. A really big part of this is GPs and Primary Health Networks.”

She recommended there should be named people in each organisation to take on the mantle of immunisation.

Up to May this year, Public Health England (PHE) confirmed 12 cases of mumps, five of measles and one case of rubella in the area.

Last year, there was a measles outbreak in Croydon with more than 40 cases confirmed between January and August. It led to illness including hospitalisation in some cases.

And last month Croydon Council announced it is trying to minimise the rise of the three highly contagious – but preventable –  diseases by getting more residents vaccinated.

With PHE and the local NHS, a Measles and Rubella Action Plan is being developed.

It is expected to include recommendations on how to improve the MMR vaccination uptake in the normal vaccination schedule for children, as well as for children and adults who missed out and need catch-up vaccinations.

Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group’s (CCG) governing body met at Croydon Conference Centre in Surrey Street on Tuesday, June 4.

What is the MMR vaccine?

According to the NHS Measles, mumps and rubella are highly infectious conditions.

They can have serious, potentially fatal complications, including meningitis, swelling of the brain (encephalitis) and deafness.

And the three diseases can lead to serious complications for pregnant women affecting the baby or even causing a miscarriage.

The MMR vaccine usually given to babies as part of their routine vaccination schedule when they are about one.

A second injection of the vaccine is given before starting school, usually at 3 years and 4 months.