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

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

There has been a surge in children being taken to the hospital after becoming seriously unwell with the highly contagious virus.

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 details have been released about whether the child was being treated for other health problems or their vaccination status.

It is thought 17 children have been treated at Alder Hey for the virus since June.

The child 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.”.

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

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

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 World Health Organization (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.