Cases of measles have surged in England, a comparison of week-on-week figures show. The Victorian-era disease, which is highly contagious, has made a reappearance in the UK in recent years.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that Measles activity had increased since January 2026, mostly driven by outbreaks in North London and Birmingham.

It said between January 1 and March 9 this year, there had been 235 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England.

February had the highest figure of laboratory confirmed measles cases, with 121 confirmed cases, up from 105 in January. By March 9, there were 9 confirmed cases of Measles.

It has most widely impacted young people. The majority (71%) of these cases were in children aged 10 years and under, and 23% were in young people and adults aged 15 years and over.

There were clear regional hotspots too. Some 62% of these cases were in London, and 22% were in the West Midlands. Just 5% of cases were in the North West.

However, the UKHSA noted that all regions have reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since January 2026.

Bringing it down a local authority level, 50 upper tier local authorities had reported at least one confirmed case with symptom onset since January 2026.

The highest numbers were reported in Enfield, with 80 cases, Birmingham had 43 cases, while Haringey had 15.