One in 10 children starting school are at risk of measles, say health officials, with uptake rates for the MMR vaccine now at their lowest levels for a decade.

A new campaign, warning parents of the serious risk to children's health from the highly contagious disease, is about to be launched as part of efforts to address the slump in doses being administered to all under fives.

Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 health officials say they have witnessed a 'significant drop' in the numbers of families bringing their children forward for MMR vaccines and other routine childhood immunisations.

The percentage of eligible babies and toddlers to have had a first dose by the time they are two is now below 90%.

The coverage for two doses in five-year-olds in England is currently 85.5% of the eligible population.

Both are well below the 95% World Health Organisation target that is needed to achieve and sustain measles elimination.

In Kent in the last year 15,887 children received one dose of their MMR jab by age two and 16,809 had been given two doses by the time they were five.

This is 90.3% of the eligible population of two-year-olds and 87.9% of pre-schoolers – again well below the WHO target.

And in Medway the figure is even lower with just 86% of the eligible population having received two MMR doses by the time they reached the age of five.

Such a drop in uptake now means that more than one in 10 children under the age of five are not fully protected from measles and are at risk of catching it.

Measles can lead to complications such as ear infections, pneumonia, and inflammation of the brain which require hospitalisation and on rare occasions can lead to long term disability or death.

Since the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1968 it is estimated that 20 million measles cases and 4,500 deaths have been prevented in the UK.

And with more international travel resuming as Covid-19 restrictions continue to be eased, health experts are also concerned that measles will be brought in from countries that have higher levels of the disease making it even more important that vaccination rates can be improved to prevent a sudden rise in cases in the UK.

New research commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the UK Health Security Agency shows that many parents are not aware of the risks measles poses to their unvaccinated children.

Only four in 10 of the 2,000 spoken to admitted to being aware the infection could be fatal.

Dr Vanessa Saliba, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, said: "The MMR vaccine offers the best protection from measles, mumps and rubella, which is why we’re calling on parents and carers to make sure their children are up to date with their two doses.

"Even a small drop in vaccine coverage can have a big impact on population immunity levels and lead to outbreaks.

"I would urge parents to check if their children are up to date with their MMR vaccines and if not to get them booked in as soon as they are able. It’s never too late to catch up."

Parents or guardians who are unsure as to whether their children are up to date with immunisations are advised to check in their child's red book – their personal child health record – in the first instance and if that is unclear then speak to your GP surgery.

Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and medical director for primary care at NHS England, said: "It is incredibly important that all parents and guardians ensure their child is up to date with their routine vaccinations, including MMR, as these vaccines give children crucial protection against serious and potentially deadly illnesses and stop outbreaks in the community.

"If your child has missed a vaccination, please contact your GP practice to book an appointment as soon as you can to make sure they have maximum protection against disease."