UPTAKE of MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine for two-five year-olds in Wales is close to its highest rate, with Gwent among the best performing areas.

Public health chiefs are now urging parents to ensure their children are vaccinated to help eliminate the diseases in Europe.

Ninety-five per cent vaccination rates are needed regularly to achieve what is called herd immunity, the official eradication of diseases.

MMR was introduced in 1988. Uptake was approaching 95 per cent when in 1997 fears were raised about the vaccine's safety.

Those fears, based on research that has since been discredited, caused uptake to fall in some areas into the 70-80s per cent. Recovery has been slow, with some parts of the UK, including much of Wales last year, experiencing measles outbreaks.

Increased uptake in Wales may be partially a result of last year's outbreak, which affected hundreds of children.

The latest vaccination report, for October-December last year, reveals that all 22 local authority areas in Wales reported MMR uptake rates of more than 90 per cent among two-year-olds, the age at which the first MMR dose is given.

One area - Carmarthenshire - achieved the elusive 95 per cent uptake for that quarter, and Gwent local authority areas all reported improvements on the same quarter in 2008.

Uptake in Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent was 94.2 per cent and 94 per cent respectively, with Newport (93.3 per cent), Torfaen (92.3 per cent), and Monmouthshire (91.8 per cent), contributing to a Gwent-wide uptake of 93.4 per cent, second only to health board areas in the Valleys and west Wales.

Overall during October-December, 1,545 two-year-olds in Gwent were vaccinated.

Second dose MMR uptake, for children aged five years, has also improved significantly in Gwent and Wales. Rates, in the 85-89 per cent category, are lower than for the first dose, but are now higher than they have ever been.