Child dies at Alder Hey Children’s hospital as cases surge

A child has died at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital after contracting measles, the BBC understands.

The hospital said the highly contagious virus was on the rise among young people in the region and it had seen a surge in “seriously unwell” children being admitted.

Alder Hey said it would not officially comment on individual cases to respect patient confidentiality but the death has been confirmed to the BBC.

No official details have been released about whether the child was being treated for other health problems or their vaccination status.

The Sunday Times has reported the child was ill with measles and other health issues.

Seventeen children have been treated at Alder Hey for measles since June.

The child, whose age and sex is unknown, is believed to be only the second in the UK in a decade to have died after contracting measles, after Renae Archer, of Salford, Greater Manchester, died aged 10 in 2023.

An Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust spokesperson said: “To respect patient confidentiality, we can’t comment on individual cases.

“We are concerned about the increasing number of children and young people who are contracting measles.

“Measles is a highly contagious viral illness which can cause children to be seriously unwell, requiring hospital treatment, and in rare cases, death.”

Patients at the site include those with compromised immunity due to other health issues “making them more susceptible to infections, including measles”, the spokesperson added.

The hospital warned parents earlier this week that a fall in measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine uptake was behind the spike in cases in the region.

Chief nurse Nathan Askew said he felt misunderstandings around the vaccine were to blame.

“This vaccine’s been in use for well over 50 years. It’s very safe, tried and tested,” he said.

There have been 500 cases of measles this year in England, with the rise blamed on the falling uptake of the MMR vaccine.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) wants 95% of children fully vaccinated by their fifth birthday.

In the north-west of England the figure is 85%, with lower rates of 73% per cent in Liverpool and 75% Manchester.

Consultant epidemiologist Dr Vanessa Saliba from the UK Health Security Agency said: “Measles is one of the most highly infectious diseases and spreads rapidly among those who are unvaccinated.

“It is a particularly nasty disease for any child and sadly for some children can be serious, leading to complications especially in young infants and those with a weakened immune system, and on rare occasions can tragically cause death.”

Measles infections usually start with cold-like symptoms such as a runny nose and coughing and sneezing, according to the NHS.

This is followed within days by a distinctive blotchy rash, which usually starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body.

A joint report by the WHO and the UN children’s fund, Unicef, recently found that the number of measles cases in Europe has reached its highest level in 25 years.

Professor Helen Bedford, head of children’s health at the University College of London, said it was “hugely concerning, but not at all surprising, that we are continuing to see outbreaks of measles” after the child’s death at Alder Hey.

She said there needed to be a “sustained 95% uptake” of two doses of the MMR vaccine to stop outbreaks of the highly infectious disease.