DOCTORS are urging Congleton mums to have their children vaccinated in the wake of a fall in the number of MMR immunisations in the town.
The call has come from Dr John Owens, who has four grown-up children and runs the immunisation programme for East Cheshire.
"The number of MMR immunisations in Congleton has dropped, and I would urge mothers to overcome their fears and give their babies protection against measles, mumps and rubella," he said.
"The concern is that if the rate slips children who are unvaccinated will be more at risk if there is a measles epidemic.
"We have recently seen one outbreak in Salford, and measles is still a serious condition which can kill."
He urged mothers to have the MMR vaccination done when their baby was 13 months old, and to have a pre-school booster for their children.
He added there was no evidence that being immunised against measles, mumps and rubella was associated with autism or Crohn's Disease.
The most recent figures for Congleton show that immunisation levels for babies at different practices ranged from 94 per cent to 75 per cent.
"Numbers of MMR immunisation are down everywhere, and they should be better," said Dr Owens.
"Congleton is not so different from anywhere else."
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