Parents of baby with measles in vaccination plea

The parents of a four-month-old baby who caught measles are urging people to get their children vaccinated after cases doubled in three weeks in the West Midlands.

Ezra spent six days in hospital earlier this month after what started as a cold turned out to be measles.

Parents Davina and Karl said he "looked like an octopus" with all the wires coming out of him in hospital, and feared he wasn't strong enough to fight the infection.

"There's going to be a terrible outbreak if it's not controlled," his mother said.

It comes as new data shows three quarters of measles cases reported in England since October have been in the West Midlands.

Figures released by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) revealed the region had 260 out of 347 cases across the country, between 1 October and 23 January.

Ezra had a cough and cold initially and the couple thought he had picked up the flu as they had been unwell over Christmas.

But the next day on 9 January a rash developed on his chest and spread quickly, so they rushed him to Good Hope Hospital.

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Karl, from Pelsall in Walsall, said: "We were concerned, but we thought it was an allergy."

He described how Ezra's temperature "sky-rocketed" and that he was crying a lot, not feeding and not alert. His eyes were also swollen.

Doctors told them they suspected Ezra had measles and it was confirmed after tests three days later.

While he was in hospital he had to be given oxygen and also had a lumber puncture to rule out meningitis.

"I've never known anyone to have measles," Davina, 28, said.

Ezra was too young to have the first dose of the MMR jab - children have that when they are usually 12 months old.

His 15-month-old brother Noah has been vaccinated and did not catch it.

Efforts are being made to get vulnerable groups vaccinated. The outbreak is worst in Birmingham where the vaccination rate for under 5s is 75%, ideally it should be 95%.

Warning people to get the jab, Ezra's mother added: "Try to get you children vaccinated if it's possible.

"When children are together it's so contagious. A lot of children are going to be passing it on, especially if they are not vaccinated."

Karl, 30, continued: "It was scary. With him being so young he hasn't had everything. He hasn't got a proper immune system.

"This is a growing thing, especially in the West Midlands where it is at its highest.

"We don't want people to go through what we did. We want parents to take to take it seriously. It could effect other families, not just your child."