Confirmed cases of measles in England by month, age, region and upper tier local authority: 2026
Updated 20 August 2026
Applies to England
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This page is updated every 2 weeks. The next scheduled update is 3 September 2026.
England measles epidemiology 2026
This report describes measles epidemiology in England from 1 January 2026.
Situational update
In 2024 there were 2,911 laboratory-confirmed measles cases in England, the highest number of cases recorded annually, since 2012. In 2025, there were a total of 960 laboratory-confirmed measles cases. Data for 2023 to 2026 and historical data is available.
Between 1 January 2026 and 17 August 2026, there have been 970 laboratory-confirmed measles cases reported in England, exceeding the total number of cases in all of 2025. An additional 17 cases have been reported since the last publication on 3 August 2026 (Figures 1 and 2). In 2026, measles activity started to increase in February, peaked in May and has declined since then.
Summary
The numbers of laboratory-confirmed measles cases by month of symptom onset in 2026 to date are:
- January – 105
- February – 142
- March – 144
- April – 155
- May – 215
- June – 153
- July – 50
- August – 6 (to date)
The UKHSA data dashboard provides tabular data on the total number of cases by week of onset in 2026.
The majority (591 out of 970, 61%) of these cases were in children aged 10 years and under, and 33% (320 out of 970) were in young people and adults aged 15 years and over (Table 1). 51% (496 out of 970) of these cases have been in London, 16% (153 out of 970) in the West Midlands, and 10% (99 out of 970) in the North West. However, all regions have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since January 2026. Ninety-six upper tier local authorities (UTLAs) have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since January 2026, with the highest numbers reported in Enfield (111 out of 970, 11%), Birmingham (81 out of 970, 8%) and Hertfordshire (63 out of 970, 6%) (Table 2a).
The vaccination status of all confirmed cases is published quarterly in the related health protection reports.
Three measles-related deaths have been reported to date in 2026: one was an acute measles death in a child, another was a death in a child due to late effects of measles, and the third was a death in an adult with an underlying immunological problem. Information on historical measles-related deaths is available on the notifications and deaths webpage.
Recent activity
There have been 18 laboratory-confirmed measles cases with symptom onset in the 4 weeks since 20 July 2026. Data reporting lags have the greatest impact on the most recent 4 weeks, and therefore the reported figures are likely to underestimate activity. London accounted for the highest proportion of these cases (28%, 5 out of 18). A total of 22% (4 out of 18) of cases have been in the South East, and 17% (3 out of 18) in the North West. Thirteen UTLAs have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since 20 July 2026 (Table 2b).
Figure 1. Laboratory-confirmed cases of measles by month of onset of rash or symptoms reported, London and England: 1 January 2012 to 17 August 2026 [notes 1 and 2]
Figure 2. Laboratory-confirmed cases of measles by week of onset of rash or symptoms reported, London and England: 1 January 2026 to 17 August 2026 [notes 1 and 2]
Note 1: cases confirmed through either local or reference laboratory testing.
Note 2: data is provisional and subject to change as:
- more suspected cases undergo confirmatory testing
- some locally tested cases are discarded after confirmatory testing at the reference laboratory
The data reporting lag has had the greatest impact on the most recent 4 weeks, and therefore the reported figures are likely to underestimate activity. For this reason, these data points are represented by dotted lines.
Table 1. Laboratory-confirmed cases of measles by age group and region in England: 1 January 2026 to 17 August 2026 [note 3]
| Age Group (years) | East Midlands | East of England | London | North East | North West | South East | South West | West Midlands | Yorkshire and Humber | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Less than 1 | 2 | 12 | 46 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 9 | 110 |
| 1 to 4 | 6 | 21 | 140 | 1 | 27 | 8 | 2 | 40 | 18 | 263 |
| 5 to 10 | 2 | 25 | 119 | 1 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 28 | 15 | 218 |
| 11 to 14 | 3 | 3 | 33 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 59 |
| 15 to 24 | 2 | 8 | 59 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 20 | 115 |
| 25 to 34 | 4 | 9 | 50 | 1 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 10 | 113 |
| 35 and over | 0 | 6 | 49 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 92 |
| Total | 19 | 84 | 496 | 5 | 99 | 29 | 8 | 153 | 77 | 970 |
Note 3: data is provisional and subject to change as:
- more suspected cases undergo confirmatory testing
- some locally tested cases are discarded after confirmatory testing at the reference laboratory
Table 2a. Number of laboratory-confirmed measles cases by region and upper tier local authority (UTLA), England: 1 January 2026 to 17 August 2026 [note 4]
| UTLA | Region | Total cases |
|---|---|---|
| Enfield | London | 111 |
| Birmingham | West Midlands | 81 |
| Hertfordshire | East of England | 63 |
| Haringey | London | 55 |
| Islington | London | 53 |
| Kirklees | Yorkshire and Humber | 39 |
| Worcestershire | West Midlands | 29 |
| Ealing | London | 25 |
| Barnet | London | 23 |
| Bradford | Yorkshire and Humber | 23 |
| Harrow | London | 23 |
| Brent | London | 22 |
| Hackney | London | 22 |
| Camden | London | 20 |
| Hillingdon | London | 20 |
| Wirral | North West | 17 |
| Staffordshire | West Midlands | 16 |
| Essex | East of England | 13 |
| Bolton | North West | 12 |
| Hounslow | London | 12 |
| Lancashire | North West | 12 |
| Newham | London | 12 |
| Sandwell | West Midlands | 12 |
| Sefton | North West | 12 |
| Waltham Forest | London | 12 |
| Barking and Dagenham | London | 11 |
Note 4: case counts have been suppressed to not present any UTLAs with fewer than 10 cases.
Data is provisional and subject to change as:
- more suspected cases undergo confirmatory testing
- some locally tested cases are discarded after obtaining further epidemiological information or undergoing confirmatory testing at the reference laboratory
Table 2b. Number of laboratory-confirmed measles cases by region and upper tier local authority (UTLA), England: 20 July 2026 to 17 August 2026 [note 5]
No UTLA recorded 10 or more laboratory-confirmed measles cases during this reporting period.
Note 5: case counts have been suppressed to not present any UTLAs with fewer than 10 cases.
Data is provisional and subject to change as:
- more suspected cases undergo confirmatory testing
- some locally tested cases are discarded after obtaining further epidemiological information or undergoing confirmatory testing at the reference laboratory
The data reporting lag has had the greatest impact on the most recent 4 weeks and therefore the reported figures are likely to underestimate activity.