A child has died after contracting measles at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, the second such fatality recorded in Britain in the past five years. The hospital said it has treated 17 children for the virus since June and warned of a rising number of seriously ill patients as low vaccination rates leave many youngsters unprotected. The UK Health Security Agency has logged 529 laboratory-confirmed measles cases in England between 1 January and 3 July, with the North West accounting for almost a quarter of recent infections. In Liverpool, just 73.4% of five-year-olds have received both doses of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, well below the national average of 83.9% and far short of the 95% coverage the World Health Organization says is needed to stop the virus spreading. Health Secretary Wes Streeting told MPs the death shows the need to “redouble” efforts to raise vaccine uptake and said the government will step up digital reminders and public-health campaigns this year. Public-health officials fear cases could climb further over the summer as families travel, noting that reported infections across the WHO’s 53-country European region surged to almost 149,000 last year amid falling immunisation rates.