Measles Outbreak At Several British Festivals Including Glastonbury

Over 36 cases of the disease have been reported in June and July alone. Yikes!

Public Health England has warned that many summer music festivals have become a hotbed for measles infection. Besides the 36 cases reported in June and July, more infected people are expected to be discovered as the outbreaks are investigated. According to PHE, this is because such festivals are an ideal place for the infection to spread due to such a large number of people at one place. They also advised people planning to visit such festivals to make sure they got their MMR vaccinations as most of the cases occurred in people who weren’t vaccinated.

Courtesy : itv.com

The cases reported till now were at the following festivals :

Glastonbury Festival : 16
NASS Festival : 7
Triplicity Music And Arts Festival : 6
Tewkesbury Medieval Festival : 3
Nozstock : The Hidden Valley: 2
Noisily Festival : 2
Secret Garden Party festival : 1
Yeovil Show : 1

At least 3 of these people knew about their infection but decided to attend the festivals anyway exposing them to the virus. In a statement on the Public Health England website, Dr. Mary Ramsay said, “Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can be very unpleasant and sometimes lead to serious complications. So, if you think you might have measles, please don’t go to any of these big events.”