MMR take-up rate on the increase

Figures show 97% of Forth Valley youngsters had the vaccine

The proportion of children in Forth Valley vaccinated against Measles, Mumps and Rubella is among the highest in Scotland.

Figures show 97% of the 3,000 youngsters in the area who are eligible for the vaccine, had the first injection with 91% having the booster.

Take-up rates of the jab dropped in the late 1990s after a controversial 1998 study linked it with autism.

However, subsequent reports have questioned the original study.

NHS Forth Valley said that since the MMR programme started in 1998, the number of children catching measles, mumps and rubella had fallen.

The authority said the vaccine was the safest way for parents to protect their children against the diseases.

Dr Henry Prempeh, NHS Forth Valley consultant in public health, said: "Measles, mumps and rubella are highly infectious among children and young adults not protected by the vaccine.

"They often only cause mild diseases, nevertheless, they can lead to serious complications in some children and young adults.

"The vaccine is highly effective, in the year before the vaccine was introduced in the UK, 86,000 children caught measles and of these 16 died, in 2007 there were only 728 confirmed cases."

The MMR vaccine is given to a child soon after their first birthday when the natural immunity the baby receives from its mother fades.

It is given again when the child is aged three to five.