Measles cases up

Parents are being urged to get their children vaccinated against the disease after it emerged all those children affected had not had the preventative jab.

The two new cases brings the total number of confirmed cases in South Yorkshire to seven in the past week alone.

And a further 13 suspected cases are expected to be confirmed once the incubation period has passed.

"We have by no means reached epidemic levels but the outbreak could grow further," said a spokesman for the South Yorkshire Health Protection Agency.

"It is very unlikely that we would see numbers pushing 100 cases but in a worse case scenario it could happen.

"We already have around 20 possible cases which is more than we would normally see.

"We know that the numbers could increase and we are urging everyone to get their kids vaccinated as this is the best way to avoid this happening."

Dr Rosy McNaught, consultant in communicable disease control at South Yorkshire Health Protection Agency, said she expected more cases to be confirmed once the incubation period of up to 14 days is up.

She said: "I can't stress enough how important it is that children are vaccinated against measles.

"Measles is the most infectious childhood disease, more infectious than chickenpox. It is spreading in the community and cherry-picks the children who have not been immunised."

Parents who have not yet had their children vaccinated are being urged to go to their GP and request the MMR jab which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.

If children do contract the highly infectious disease it could lead to potentially fatal conditions including pneumonia and meningitis.

The disease can also trigger miscarriages in pregnant woman and prove fatal to children with cancer who have weakened immune systems.