Measles information pack for schools

Due to the increase in measles cases, the DfE have provided an information pack, which they previously only sent to settings when they had a case of measles.

This will enable you to be more prepared if you do have cases and means you can respond to a case of measles in a more planned and informed way.

Measles is extremely infectious and can cause serious illnesses, including pneumonia and meningitis.

To help to reduce the spread of infection, schools can:

1. Identify who might have been in contact with measles cases and provide information on what they need to do.
2. Share messages around the importance of vaccination and hand hygiene to reduce the spread of measles.
3. Help to identify any groups that might need additional resources (e.g. translated or simple text information) or alternative approaches to encourage vaccination.
4. Provide a location for delivering vaccination sessions if required.

This information pack contains:

• Actions to take before there is a measles case
• Actions to take if you are aware of any likely or confirmed cases of measles among people who have attended your setting, who have been diagnosed by a doctor or other health care professional.
• Template letter (appendix 1) which can be sent to parents, carers, staff etc if they are contacts of a case
• A factsheet on measles (appendix 2)
• Further information and resources on measles and vaccination

Please see these UK Health Security Agency YouTube videos for more context:

• Potential for measles outbreak in London
• Infectiousness of measles

We are aware that scarlet fever guidance for schools has been published from UKHSA - this is for information. There are many infectious diseases circulating currently. The main national focus is now preventing the spread of measles, which UK Health Security Agency has declared as a national incident due to the increased risk.

Actions for schools

We would appreciate your support preventing a further rise in measles case in Ealing by the following actions:

1. Share the parent/carer letter to all parents in your school
2. Please see flyer for weekly vaccination clinic at CP House Ealing Broadway that can be shared with parents too, with outreach clinics to be rolled out across Ealing over the coming weeks
3. A weblink to a measles information page can be translated if you need to send this to your school community
4. MMR posters are available in different languages.
5. Children with rash and fever (over 38°C) should be excluded from school and asked to seek clinical opinion
6. Schools should encourage immunisation for staff who do not know their status/are unimmunised
7. In the event of a case of measles or an outbreak of measles in a school, please contact UK Health Security Agency (UK HSA), North West London team urgently on Tel: 0300 303 0450 Email: london.region@ukhsa.gov.uk
8. The UKHSA will conduct a full risk assessment and advise on any further actions needed for vulnerable staff, including liaising with their clinical teams if necessary, advising on whether or not they can continue to attend school, arranging any necessary prophylaxis required.
9. Based on the risk assessment, UKHSA will provide full guidance to the school on management of the situation, including communication to the parents population. This includes assessing whether to communicate to the parents of the affected class only or the wider school population, and will be decided on a case by case basis, depending on the number of cases, levels of contact/exposure, demographics of the school population, etc.
10. Schools should ensure that they know who the vulnerable individuals are within the school – this includes pupils and staff.
    Vulnerable groups are pregnant women and those who are immunocompromised. Headteachers have asked for more clarity on definitions of ‘immunocompromised’: Based on UKHSA national measles guidance for health professionals, this includes those receiving or within 6 months of chemotherapy/radiotherapy, certain immunosuppressive drugs including moderate/high dose steroids, certain biological therapies, solid organ transplant patients, stem cell patients, primary immunodeficiency and HIV/AIDS. Staff who are uncertain should speak to their clinician.Those exposed to measles, will be asked to contact their clinician urgently and the UK HSA team will also be liaising with the individual’s clinician. Pregnant women who are vaccinated are considered immune can continue to work as normal.
11. Please be aware that in the event of a significant measles outbreak in the school, there may be a need to change the roles of vulnerable staff in order to limit their possible exposure – this may include asking them to conduct roles which do no interact with students, or asking them to work from home. UKHSA will provide further advice on this if an outbreak occurs. The school may need to make arrangements for vulnerable students to move to home learning until the outbreak has resolved. UKHSA will provide further advice on this if an outbreak occurs.

Further information

If you have any further queries, please contact Raj Chowdhury, on the contact details below.

Many thanks for your continued support and help in this matter.