Football fans advised to be immunised before travel to 2018 FIFA World Cup
Measles outbreaks in Europe put visitors to Russia at risk
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HEALTH 2018 fifa world cup
Football fans are advised to be immunised for measles, mumps, and rubella ahead of travelling to Russia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup this month. The tournament kicks off on June 14, and Public Health England has issued a statement encouraging those travelling to the event to update their MMR vaccine.
We’re advising fans heading to Russia for the World Cup to ensure they are up to date with their MMR vaccine because of measles outbreaks across the continent. More info: https://t.co/OqpGN4nTrL pic.twitter.com/PCtzOyPvvg
— Public Health England (@PHE_uk) 4 June 2018
There have been 440 confirmed measles cases in England this year. The outbreaks are reported to be mainly associated with travel to and from Europe, where there are large ongoing measles outbreaks. Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at PHE, said "The measles outbreaks we are currently seeing in England are linked to ongoing large outbreaks in Europe. The majority of cases we are seeing are in teenagers and young adults who missed out on their MMR vaccine when they were children."