A mumps outbreak within Stamford Hill’s Orthodox community has prompted the local health authority to urge parents to ensure their children have received the MMR vaccine.

The City and Hackney Primary Care Trust has offered to send immunisation teams to five Orthodox Jewish schools in north Hackney following outbreaks in two Orthodox boys’ primary schools in the area over the past few weeks. One of the schools is said to be the Machzikei Hadath in Clapton, but the care trust could not confirm this.

The trust did say that two schools had so far accepted its offer — and that there had been 61 reported cases of mumps in north Hackney in the last month. “The majority of cases are children and young adults.”

According to a spokesman from the Charedi Jewish Community Health Forum: “Schools affected by mumps have sent out letters informing parents and one of the schools has already offered the immunisation at the school. We are supporting schools to make sure the community is aware of the importance of immunisation.”