Research and analysis

Confirmed cases of measles in England by month, age, region and upper tier local authority: 2026

Updated 12 March 2026

Applies to England

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 959 laboratory-confirmed measles cases. Data for 2023 to 2025 and historical data are available.

Between 1 January 2026 and 9 March 2026 , there have been 235 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England, an increase of 40 cases since the last report on 5 March 2026 (Figures 1 and 2). Measles activity has increased since January 2026, mostly driven by outbreaks in North London and Birmingham (Table 1 and 2).

Summary

The number of laboratory confirmed measles cases by month of symptom onset in 2026 to date are:

• January: 105
• February: 121
• March: 9 (to date)

The UKHSA data dashboard provides tabular data on the total number of cases by week of onset in 2026.

The majority (166 of 235, 71%) of these cases were in children aged 10 years and under, and 23% (55 of 235) were in young people and adults aged 15 years and over (Table 1). 62% (146 of 235) of these cases have been in London, 22% (51 of 235) in the West Midlands, and 5% (11 of 235) in the North West. However, all regions have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since January 2026. 50 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 (80 of 235, 34%), Birmingham (43 of 235, 18%) and Haringey (15 of 235, 6%) (Table 2a).

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

No acute measles-related deaths have been reported to date in 2026. Information on historical measles-related deaths is available on the notifications and deaths webpage.

Recent activity

There have been 107 laboratory confirmed measles cases with symptom onset date in the 4 weeks since 9 February 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 (60%, 64 of 107). 21% (22 of 107) of cases have been in the West Midlands, and 6% (6 of 107) in the North West. 36 UTLAs have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since 9 February 2026, with the highest number of cases reported in Enfield (n=35) and Birmingham (n=19) (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 9 March 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 9 March 2026 [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 2026 to 9 March 2026 [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	2	2	13	0	2	0	0	10	1	30
1 to 4 years	2	2	53	0	2	0	1	15	1	76
5 to 10 years	1	2	50	0	2	0	0	5	0	60
11 to 14 years	2	0	7	0	0	0	0	5	0	14
15 to 24 years	1	0	6	0	2	1	0	3	2	15
25 to 34 years	2	1	9	1	0	0	0	6	0	19
35 years and older	0	1	8	0	3	0	1	7	1	21
Total	10	8	146	1	11	1	2	51	5	235

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 2a. Number of laboratory confirmed measles cases by region and upper tier local authority (UTLA), England: 1 January 2026 to 9 March 2026 [note 4]

Upper tier local authority (UTLA)	Region	Total cases
Enfield	London	80
Birmingham	West Midlands	43
Haringey	London	15

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

Table 2b. Number of laboratory confirmed measles cases by region and upper tier local authority (UTLA), England: 09 February 2026 to 9 March 2026 [note 5]

Upper tier local authority (UTLA)	Region	Total cases
Enfield	London	35
Birmingham	West Midlands	19

Note 5: 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

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.

This page is updated every week. The next scheduled update is 19 March 2026.