Schools in South Wales are sending out letters of consent to parents so their children can be vaccinated against measles.
So far there have been near 700 confirmed cases of the disease and that number is expected to rise - both in Wales and England. About 60 have been hospitalised.
According to experts, the peak of the epidemic will not be seen for nearly four weeks.
The rising number of people infected has prompted fears that a youngster may die from the disease. Experts say that in the developed world around one in 1,000 cases of measles results in a fatality.
About 2,000 pupils could be given the MMR jab this week in South Wales schools to try to slow down the spread of the epidemic, which is centred on Swansea.
Experts believe there are around 40,000 children across Wales who have yet to be vaccinated.
Dr Meirion Evans, of Public Health Wales, said that the number of cases could easily double and that low vaccination rates across the UK mean that no area in the country was safe from an outbreak.
He told the BBC: "Across Wales as a whole there are many, many children who have not had their MMR – we estimate over 40,000 children across Wales.
"Nowhere in Wales is safe from measles and I think that is true of the UK as a whole."
Another immunisation expert, Dr David Elliman, has warned that London and the north of England are most at risk.
Experts believe the epidemic has arisen as a result of an earlier low uptake of the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella.
Many people are thought to have refused the vaccination for their children because of now disproven fears that the MMR vaccine could cause autism.
Dr Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who sparked the scare, had tried to blame officials in Wales for the latest epidemic.
But over the weekend, the Government dismissed his claims, with a spokesman for the Department of Health saying: "Dr Andrew Wakefield's claims are completely incorrect."
More than 2,000 people were vaccinated in at special drop-in sessions set up in South Wales over the weekend to give residents free MMR jabs.
Clinics will be open again next weekend and schools will continue being targeted this week as officials try to prevent the epidemic spreading further.
Professor David Salisbury, director of immunisation at the Department of Health, said the problems in Wales were "historic".
"Our immunisation coverage rates, currently, are extremely high, 95% of children are being vaccinated in this country.
About the situation in Wales, he said: "That is a historic problem, the legacy of bizarre suggestions about vaccines and autism from 15 years ago, that's not the situation currently."
Typical symptoms of measles include fever, cough, conjunctivitis and a rash.
Complications are quite common even in healthy people. These can include ear infections, vomiting and diarrhoea, pneumonia, meningitis and serious eye disorders.
Before the introduction of the MMR jab in 1988, about half a million children caught measles each year in the UK. Approximately 100 of those died.
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