2 days ago
Glastonbury 2025 ‘could be a superspreader event' – here's how to protect yourself
If you – or your children – are heading off to Glastonbury next week, there's an increasing risk you'll come home with more than just muddy wellies and a hangover. Infectious diseases are always rife at festivals, but as 200,000 people prepare to descend on Worthy Farm in Somerset, this year there's an unholy alliance of risk factors – and of catching one nasty disease in particular.
'We could be seeing a superspreader event, along the lines of Boardmasters in 2021,' says Dr Chris Smith, a consultant virologist and lecturer at Queens' College, Cambridge. 'It's exactly the same recipe: a mass gathering – and a susceptible demographic.'
Four years ago, the virus was Covid, but this year, festival-goers run the risk of contracting measles – far more infectious than coronavirus, and with a higher chance of causing serious illness. Measles is also potentially more fatal.
First things first: any old hippies going to Glastonbury need not worry so much. Dr Dana Parr is a GP at the Bath Clinic in Somerset – down the road from the festival. 'People born before 1957 are deemed to have natural immunity,' she says. 'From 1968, there was a very effective single vaccine, then after 1988, the combined MMR.' Those vaccinated between 1957 and 1968 received a less effective version, so may need a booster shot (your immunity can be determined by a blood test).
The generation most at risk of measles
According to Dr Smith, the MMR generation now in their 20s – and the most likely to go to Glastonbury – are the ones at specific risk. 'These are exactly the demographic coming downstream from the Andrew Wakefield scandal,' he says. Dr Smith is referring to the 1998 paper published in The Lancet journal in which the now-disgraced Wakefield implied a link between the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine and a 'new syndrome' of autism and bowel disease.
The paper was later roundly discredited and Wakefield struck off – but the damage had been done, and thousands of parents in the late 1990s and early 2000s refused to get their babies vaccinated. One in five children in England is estimated to have missed out on their MMR jabs – in some areas, it's one in four. The 'anti-vaxx' movement is still thriving.
According to Dr Smith, for the measles vaccine to be effective, 95 per cent of the country needs to have had it. 'Measles is the most infectious virus of all,' he says. 'You remember when we talked about the 'R' (or reproduction) number during Covid? Covid has an 'R' number of three, flu's is two – and measles' is around 22.'
Imagine, then, how much more infectious it must be at a crowded arena such as Glastonbury. 'People squashed together, their faces in each other's faces, yelling in one another's ear to be heard against the music, wiping spit off their cheeks – it's a minefield,' says Dr Smith, who is 50.
'Personally, I can't stand the idea of a festival – I can't imagine anything worse,' he says. 'My kids went to Boardmasters and it sounded like hell on earth.'
The health risks of measles
'Measles is a respiratory illness: those little sprays of droplets are little bubbles of virus, and you are breathing them in,' says Dr Smith.
And while we may think of measles as nothing more than a nasty rash, Dr Smith is keen to set the record straight. 'Measles still kills 150,000 people a year, mostly in Asia and India,' he says. 'The mortality rate has come down by 90 per cent, thanks to vaccination, but even in countries like the UK, it can be fatal.' There was one measles-related death in the UK in 2024.
'The overriding symptom of measles is misery,' says Dr Smith. 'The respiratory infection can turn into pneumonia. Then it affects every single tissue in your body – rash is a sign of that. You can get conjunctivitis, gastric symptoms and even encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. Measles is no laughing matter: someone I know lost a twin sister to the disease.'
Since the start of the year, 420 cases of the virus have been recorded in England, though officials say this is likely to be an underestimate. Two thirds of cases have been in children under 10 – the majority of whom were unvaccinated.
'We are seeing young adults and older adults catching measles,' says Dr Parr. 'It's not just a childhood disease.'
How can I stop myself catching measles at Glastonbury?
'Either you wear an FFP protective mask and goggles, or you wear this preventative clothing called a vaccine. Otherwise, there is very little you can do to avoid infection. It would be like going into a building that's on fire and hoping not to get burnt,' says Dr Smith.
Even if you haven't had your MMR vaccine, it's not too late. The vaccine – which offers lifelong protection – consists of two doses: the first is normally given when a child turns one year old, and then again at three years and four months (the age at which the second jab is administered is coming down to 18 months from July 1). However, the MMR vaccine can be given to a person at any age.
'The MMR takes three weeks to reach full immunity, but even if you are now exposed to measles, it attenuates serious infection, and reduces the chances of severe symptoms,' says Dr Smith. 'A significant proportion of people only had their first doses first time around and there was a lower uptake of the second – so if that's you, get a booster. Ask your GP now.'
Dr Parr says that you can check your MMR status on the NHS app.
What other infectious diseases are prevalent at festivals?
Enteroviruses, such as colds, as well as flu
These are spread in a similar way to measles, says Dr Parr. 'But there isn't much flu circulating at the moment: it's still minor, so unlikely to be a major concern this year,' she says.
Food poisoning, such as norovirus and e-coli
E-coli is a serious bacterial infection that can lead to renal failure. 'In 1999, there was an outbreak of e-coli at Glastonbury which came from infected mud (the infection originally came from cows),' she says. Be vigilant washing your hands and rinse fresh food.
Norovirus – which causes diarrhoea and vomiting – also spreads in a festival setting. 'This comes from faecal-oral transmission, basically, people not washing their hands properly and then touching their eyes or mouth,' says Dr Parr. 'Make sure you look after your personal hygiene.'
Whooping cough
' There's been a huge increase in this, and kids have died,' says Dr Smith. 'This is again due to low uptake of the vaccine, and a lack of immunity in the rest of the population.' The vaccine isn't normally recommended for adults unless they are pregnant, or with young children. Aside from a vaccine, wash your hands regularly and make sure people cover their mouths when they cough.
Covid
Covid is still doing the rounds. 'I saw two new cases in my clinic today,' says Dr Smith. ' There's a new variant going around but we don't know much about it because the government has turned off the sequencing.' Traditional Covid measures apply though more challenging to implement at a festival: wash your hands regularly and keep your distance.
STIs such as chlamydia, genital warts and gonorrhoea
'We see a spike in these after festivals – or at least, people are worried about having been exposed to them,' says Dr Parr. 'In this free-spirited party atmosphere, people's barriers are lower.' Always have safe sex, using a condom.
