Research and analysis

Confirmed cases of measles in England by month, age, region and upper-tier local authority: 2025

Updated 20 November 2025

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-epidemiology-2023/confirmed-cases-of-measles-in-england-by-month-age-region-and-upper-tier-local-authority-2025

England measles epidemiology 2025

This report describes measles epidemiology in England from 1 January 2025.

Situational update

In 2024 there were 2,911 laboratory confirmed measles cases in England, the highest number of cases recorded annually, since 2012. Data for 2023 and 2024 and historical data is available.

Since 1 January 2025, there have been 847 laboratory-confirmed measles cases reported in England, an increase of 36 cases since the last report on 23 October 2025 (Figures 1 and 2). Measles case numbers started to increase in April 2025 with outbreaks particularly affecting London and the North West regions. However, since mid-July activity has stabilised.

Summary

The number of laboratory-confirmed measles cases by month of symptom onset in 2025 to date are:

  • January: 88
  • February: 68
  • March: 68
  • April: 109
  • May: 130
  • June: 126
  • July: 122
  • August: 50
  • September: 29
  • October: 41
  • November: 16 (to date)

The UKHSA data dashboard provides tabular data on the total number of cases by week of onset in 2025.

The majority (581 of 847, 69%) of these cases were in children aged 10 years and under, and 26% (216 of 847) were in young people and adults aged 15 years and over (Table 1). 51% (430 of 847) of these cases have been in London, 15% (129 of 847) in the North West, and 9% (73 of 847) in the East of England. 98 upper-tier local authorities (UTLAs) have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since January 2025, with the highest numbers reported in Hackney (112 of 847, 13%), Birmingham (47 of 847, 6%) and Bristol (47 of 847, 6%) (Table 2a).

The vaccination status of all confirmed cases is published quarterly in the related health protection reports.

In 2025, one acute measles-related death occurred in a child who was known to have other medical conditions. Information on historical measles-related deaths is available on the notifications and deaths webpage.

Recent activity

There have been 27 laboratory confirmed measles cases with symptom onset date in the 4 weeks since 20 October 2025. 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 (52%, 14 of 27). 19% (5 of 27) of cases have been in the East of England, and 19% (5 of 27) in the West Midlands. No UTLAs have reported 10 or more cases in the past 4 weeks.

Figure 1. Laboratory-confirmed cases of measles by month of onset of rash or symptoms reported, London and England: 1 January 2012 to 17 November 2025 [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 2025 to 17 November 2025 [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 2025 to 17 November 2025 [note 3]

Age group East Midlands East of England London North East North West South East South West West Midlands Yorkshire and Humber England
Less than 1 year 6 7 42 1 24 3 10 9 5 107
1 to 4 years 6 20 150 2 52 5 14 22 14 285
5 to 10 years 0 21 120 0 24 5 6 6 7 189
11 to 14 years 1 6 29 0 3 0 4 4 3 50
15 to 24 years 4 9 32 0 7 8 5 12 4 81
25 to 34 years 3 7 36 0 11 3 11 4 2 77
35 years and older 2 3 21 3 8 7 9 1 4 58
Total 22 73 430 6 129 31 59 58 39 847

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 2. Number of laboratory confirmed measles cases by region and upper-tier local authority, England: 1 January 2025 to 17 November 2025 [note 4]

Upper-tier local authority (UTLA) Region Total cases
Hackney London 112
Birmingham West Midlands 47
Bristol South West 47
Salford North West 42
Croydon London 31
Haringey London 30
Leeds Yorkshire and Humber 29
Newham London 29
Hertfordshire East of England 24
Camden London 22
Essex East of England 22
Lewisham London 21
Knowsley North West 19
Harrow London 18
Waltham Forest London 18
Islington London 16
Enfield London 14
Barnet London 13
Wandsworth London 12
Manchester North West 11
Southwark London 11
Cheshire West and Chester North West 10
Oldham North West 10

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

This page is updated every 4 weeks. The next scheduled update is 18 December 2025.

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