Research and analysis

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

Updated 25 September 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 are available.

Since 1 January 2025, there have been 772 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England, an increase of 30 cases since the last report on 28 August 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 been on a downward trend.

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: 108
  • May: 130
  • June: 126
  • July: 122
  • August: 51
  • September: 11 to date

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

The majority (538 of 772, 70%) of these cases were in children aged 10 years and under, and 25% (191 of 772) were in young people and adults aged 15 years and over (Table 1). 52% (398 of 772) of these cases have been in London, 16% (123 of 772) in the North West, and 9% (68 of 772) in the East of England. 92 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 (99 of 772, 13%), Bristol (47 of 772, 6%) and Salford (40 of 772, 5%) (Table 2).

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 deaths is also available.

Recent activity

There have been 18 laboratory confirmed measles cases with symptom onset date in the 4 weeks since 25 August 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 (67%, 12 of 18). 12 UTLAs have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since 25 August 2025.

Figure 1. Laboratory confirmed cases of measles by month of onset of rash or symptoms reported, London and England: 1 January 2012 to 22 September 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 22 September 2025 [notes 1 and 2]

Note 1: Cases confirmed through either local or reference laboratory testing.

Note 2: Data are 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 22 September 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 39 1 25 3 10 7 4 102
1 to 4 years 4 18 139 2 49 5 13 14 14 258
5 to 10 years 0 20 113 0 23 5 6 4 7 178
11 to 14 years 1 4 26 0 3 0 4 2 3 43
15 to 24 years 4 9 30 0 6 8 5 5 4 71
25 to 34 years 2 7 34 0 10 2 11 2 2 70
35 years and older 1 3 17 3 7 6 9 0 4 50
Total 18 68 398 6 123 29 58 34 38 772

Note 3: Data are 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 (UTLA), England: 1 January 2025 to 22 September 2025 [note 4]

Upper tier local authority (UTLA) Region Total cases
Hackney London 99
Bristol South West 47
Salford North West 40
Leeds Yorkshire and Humber 29
Haringey London 28
Birmingham West Midlands 26
Croydon London 26
Newham London 26
Hertfordshire East of England 23
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
Barnet London 13
Enfield London 11
Wandsworth London 11
Cheshire West and Chester North West 10
Southwark London 10

Note 4: Case counts have been suppressed to not present any UTLAs with fewer than 10 cases.

Data are 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 23 October 2025.

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