SIXTY-FOUR people in the region have needed hospital treatment for complications from measles during the current outbreak, health experts have revealed.

There are fears that as the outbreak shows no sign of tailing off there could be more serious cases arising from complications.

In one case a patient with measles from the North-East had to be admitted to a specialist heart unit in another part of the UK because they developed a rare complication which resulted in inflammation of the heart.

So far the North-East has had 200 confirmed cases and 176 suspected cases but this is dwarfed by the 588 confirmed cases in Swansea.

Nationally there were 2,000 confirmed cases last year, the highest level since 1994.

It is thought that the now discredited claims of a link between the MMR measles vaccine and autism made in the late 1990s has resulted in many young people being left unprotected against measles.

The current epidemic is much bigger than the last outbreak in 2009 which was restricted to Hartlepool and involved around 130 cases.

Julia Waller, North-East immunisation lead with Public Health England, said: "Unfortunately we still have huge numbers of children in the North-East who have not had the two doses of vaccine they need to be protected."

"Measles is highly infectious and unvaccinated children and adults who havent had it before are at risk when it is circulating, as it is now in this region."

She said there is no treatment for measles but it can be prevented by two doses of the MMR vaccine.

She urged anyone who missed out on MMR in the past to contact their GP to arrange to be vaccinated.

The outbreak started in County Durham and Darlington but has now moved to Teesside, she added

To prevent spreading the illness, Mrs Waller advises people with symptoms of measles to:

*Stay away from school, nursery or work until at least four full days have elapsed after the development of a rash.

*Telephone your GP surgery or NHS walk-in centre to inform them you or your child has a rash illness before attending, so arrangements can be made for minimising contact with other vulnerable patients.

*Avoid going to A&E unless you are seriously ill, and if you do attend, telephone ahead to let them know you may have measles.

*Avoid contact with pregnant women, people with weak immune systems and babies who are too young to be vaccinated.