HEALTH experts are warning that there could be a potentially fatal measles outbreak if parents do not ensure their children are vaccinated against the disease.

Buckinghamshire Health Authority has revealed that the county may face an epidemic which could lead to serious health problems if parents continue to prevent children getting the jabs.

The authority says there has been a significant drop in the number of children being given the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine.

In the last three years there has been a 20 per cent reduction in the number of pre-school children being taken for the booster jab.

The uptake of the vaccine for these diseases in children under 24 months was 91.3 per cent in March 2000, compared with 93.6 per cent in the same age bracket in 1997.

Some parents have concerns about claims that there is a link between the MMR vaccine and diseases of the bowel and conditions such as autism and asthma.

These fears have not been alleviated by national experts, including those from the World Health Organisation, who have concluded that there is no evidence of a link.

Dr Elizabeth Haworth, consultant in communicable disease control, said: "Lower MMR immunisation rates in England mean there is a risk of a measles outbreak this year. A measles epidemic could result in unnecessary long-term health problems in both children and adults and some cases could be fatal."