The number of people infected with measles has escalated rapidly

FREE now SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Make the most of your money by signing up to our newsletter fornow We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

Officials are urgently calling for more people to get vaccinated after revealing that the total number of people who have contracted the disease in south west Wales now stands at 886.



The fresh call comes following the death of a 25-year-old father-of-one from Swansea, who had the disease.



Dr Marion Lyons, Director of Health Protection for Public Health Wales, warned the current epidemic is showing no signs of ending.



"There is still an urgent need to vaccinate more children if we are going to end this outbreak," she added.



"The hardest hit age group is those between 10 and 18 so we would remind those young people and their parents that now is the time to be vaccinated.



"We have seen in the last few days that measles can be potentially fatal and no one should be complacent about the severity of measles. It can kill but can be prevented by a simple, safe vaccine."



While the latest epidemic is centred on Swansea, cases have continued to be reported across Wales.



With not enough "herd immunity", health officials had previously voiced concerns that it was just a matter of time before the disease claimed someone's life.

There is still an urgent need to vaccinate more children if we are going to end this outbreak Dr Marion Lyons