The World Health Organisation has issued an urgent warning over measles after an “alarming” 30-fold rise in cases across Europe, with 30 000 cases reported between January and October last year, compared with 941 cases in the whole of 2022.
Two in five cases were in children between one and four; one in five were in people over 20, and the WHO said statistics would worsen if people do not vaccinate their children against the disease, reports The Guardian.
The UK recently launched a campaign to encourage parents to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine for their children, after an escalation in cases.
Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said: “We have seen in the region not only a 30-fold increase in measles cases, but also nearly 21 000 hospitalisations and five measles-related deaths (reported in two countries).
“Vaccination is the only way to protect children from this potentially dangerous disease.”
Declining vaccination rates have been blamed, as well as increased travel abroad after Covid-19, bumping up the risk of cross-border disease transmission and spread within communities.
The WHO said vaccination rates for the first dose of the MMR vaccine had slipped from 96% in 2019 to 93% in 2022 across Europe, while uptake of the second dose fell from 92% to 91% over the same period.
Worldwide, vaccination rates against measles have seen dramatic drops. In 2021, there were an estimated 128 000 measles deaths around the globe, mostly among under-vaccinated or unvaccinated children under five.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Anti-vax fears drive record measles outbreaks in Europe
Low vaccination rates blamed for ‘dramatic’ surge in measles in Europe
UK authorities urge MMR vaccine after measles outbreak