Mum’s jab plea after daughter’s measles death

Image source, Rebecca Archer

Image caption, Renae, here with her mum Rebecca, died aged 10 of complications caused by having measles as a baby

The mother of a girl who died of complications from having measles as a baby has urged parents to have their children vaccinated.

Renae Archer, from Salford, was too young for the jab when she caught the infection at five months old.

She died aged 10 in 2023, and her mother Rebecca believes Renae might not have caught it if more people had inoculated their children.

Ms Archer spoke after reports that measles vaccine uptake was falling.

She said after the illness, “everything went back to normal, [Renae] was fit and healthy”.

But a decade later she suffered seizures at school and was diagnosed with the very rare brain disease subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE).

A scan found swelling on her brain, and she slowly lost the ability to speak or eat.

Ms Archer said she was told by doctors that the condition “was going to be fatal”, and the family had to take the decision to switch off Renae’s life support.

“It’s still hard to believe that’s why Renae’s not here anymore,” Ms Archer said.

There had been outbreaks of measles across the UK at the time Renae caught the virus, with about 1000 suspected cases in Greater Manchester.

Just under 400 cases were confirmed in laboratory tests, according to research available from the UK Health Security Agency.

Most confirmed and probable cases occurred in children under vaccination age, and in children aged between 10 and 19.

There had been “low vaccine uptake” in the 10 to 19 cohort because of “unfounded alleged links between the MMR vaccine and autism”, according to the research.

Image source, Family photo

Image caption, Renae Archer died from measles complications a decade after she had the infection

Ms Archer added: “[Renae hadn’t] had the MMR because she was under 12 months old.

“If there wasn’t an outbreak and more kids had their vaccinations, then she wouldn’t have got the measles in the first place.

“And it wouldn’t have ultimately ended her life.”

Rebecca has shared her story as part of a joint NHS and UK Health Security Agency campaign to urge parents in the north-west of England to vaccinate their children against measles.

Symptoms, which appear seven to 10 days after infection, include a runny or blocked nose, sneezing and coughs, high temperatures, and a red-brown rash.

Image source, NHS Greater Manchester

Image caption, Rebecca Archer said vaccines were “not a big step” for parents wanting too protect their children

The illness can result in life-changing health complications such as blindness, deafness and swelling of the brain both adults and children, an NHS spokeswoman said.

The warning comes amid a spike in confirmed cases across England in 2024, with 40 cases in the region detected between October 2023 and March this year.

Manisha Kumar, chief medical officer for NHS Greater Manchester, said he hoped the stories shared by “brave people like Rebecca” would highlight the urgent need to reverse the decline in MMR vaccine uptake.

“Two doses of the MMR vaccine are needed to get life-long protection against measles, mumps and rubella.”

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