As measles spreads in England, health authorities warn the outbreak could snowball ( www.nbcnews.com )

Already, the country has confirmed 216 cases, with many more suspected. That’s far higher than the totals from the last two years.

A serious outbreak of measles in England could grow to tens of thousands of cases, health experts there have warned, as Europe grapples with a spike in the highly contagious disease.

The U.K. Health Security Agency said Friday that since October, there have been 216 confirmed cases and 103 probable cases in the West Midlands region, an urban part of England centered on the city of Birmingham, where around 80% of the cases were recorded. That’s higher than last year’s total of 209 measles cases and the 2022 tally of 53.

Last year, the government warned that a measles outbreak in London could lead to between 40,000 and 160,000 cases there if the vaccination rate did not improve. The rate in England has been falling for years due to misinformation and declining community health budgets.

Around 89% of children in England have received their first measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine dose by age 2, according to the state-run National Health Service — down from 93% a decade ago. The World Health Organization considers 95% the necessary threshold to maintain herd immunity.