WALTHAM Forest Primary Care Trust (PCT) will not be delivering double doses of the MMR jab in response to a sharp rise in measles in some parts of London.

South-east London has been dealing with record-numbers of measles prompting Government advisers to recommend emergency vaccination measures to prevent an epidemic.

However, Waltham Forest borough has not seen an increase in infections in the last year, and the PCT said this week that it will not initiate a double-dose until told to do so by the Health Protection Agency or the Department of Health.

The number of cases of measles in the borough are considered average in comparison to other boroughs in north and central London, with 23 cases from May 2007 to May 2008, and just four cases since January.

In south east London, doctors have seen a record 226 cases since January, compared with 167 during the whole of 2007.

The MMR vaccine contains a mixture of three live viruses given by injection for immunisation against measles, mumps and rubella. It is generally given to babies at one year, with a booster dose before starting school.

Some parents have refused to allow their child to be vaccinated because of fears that MMR could cause a form of autism, sparked by a paper published in 1998 which suggested that giving children the vaccines in three separate doses would be safer than a single jab. But this theory has since been dismissed by scientists and Government experts.

Two doses of MMR close together have been shown to boost protection.