Five more pupils have been confirmed to have measles at an Island school which has been at the centre of an outbreak.

Last week we reported that eight children at Eastchurch Primary School had the disease, with 27 others thought to be suffering from it.

On Monday, the Health Protection Agency said laboratory tests confirmed 13 pupils had the illness, there are 15 other suspected cases at the school.

A spokesman for the agency said: “This number is likely to go up. Some of the reported cases last week did not turn out to be measles.”

The agency’s Kent Health Protection Unit visited the school on Friday, February 13, to offer the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine to pupils and staff. The jab was offered to anyone who had not been vaccinated, not had the necessary two doses of the MMR vaccine, or who was unsure of their vaccination history.

The outbreak prompted Island MP Derek Wyatt (Lab) to urge people to have the vaccine and have their children vaccinated.

Last week he said: “Measles is a nasty disease and in some cases it can be very serious. The MMR vaccine is safe, if it wasn’t the government would not allow it to be used.”

Dr Mathi Chandrakumar, director of the Kent HPU, said: “Once one case of measles has been confirmed, it is very likely that further suspected cases will be measles.

“It is highly infectious and can be passed on without direct contact before the rash appears. It is a very serious infection and can lead to pneumonia and encephalitis, even in healthy children.”