2024-02-08 22:36:46
Measles rears its head in Italy, with an increase in cases. In 2023 the surveillance system “recorded 43 cases of measles, a clear increase compared to 15 in 2022”. The picture is outlined in the update of the measles-rubella bulletin of the Higher Institute of Health (ISS). “26% of cases reported a complication, the most frequent being diarrhea, reported in 6 cases, followed by pneumonia (4 cases), respiratory failure (3 cases), keratoconjunctivitis (3 cases) and hepatitis or increased transaminases (3 cases)”, specifies the bulletin.
“The increase in cases recorded in Italy is smaller than that of other European countries about which the WHO recently raised an alarm, but it should not be underestimated – comments Anna Teresa Palamara, who heads the Infectious Diseases department of the ISS – Measles can be potentially very dangerous, especially for the little ones, as demonstrated by the WHO data for Europe, which report 21 thousand hospitalizations and 5 deaths in 2023. The vaccine, which is safe and effective, remains the main tool available to combat this disease”.
In the period January 1-December 31, 2023, “an increase was observed in the last four months of the year, with 32 cases reported between September and December 2023, compared to three cases in the same period in 2022. 42% of reported cases were imported – we read in the bulletin – The national incidence is less than one case per million inhabitants. At a regional level, the highest incidence was observed in Campania. The median age of cases is 27 years, but the incidence highest was observed in children under 5 years of age. 93% of total cases were unvaccinated.” In almost all of the genotyped cases, the D8 genotype was isolated.
2024 started with a not encouraging trend. “In the month of January 2024 alone, 27 were reported, of which 26 were laboratory confirmed, from seven Regions”. The vaccination status “is known for 23 out of 27 cases (85%), of which 21 cases (91%) were not vaccinated at the time of infection and one case was vaccinated with 1 dose”, underlines the report.
In 2024 the national incidence was 0.5 cases per million inhabitants. Over half of the cases were reported from three Regions (Lombardy, Tuscany and Lazio). The highest incidence was reported in Tuscany (2.4 cases per million), followed by Lazio and Campania – continues the bulletin – Nine of the reported cases (33%) are imported. The median age of the reported cases is 35 years (range 1-47 years) and over half of the cases (6/11) are aged between 15 and 39 years. A case has been reported – highlights the ISS – in a child less than one year of age (therefore not eligible for vaccination). The highest incidence was observed in the 15-39 age group (1.08 per million), followed by the 0-4 age group (0.46 per million).
Nine cases (33%) “reported at least one complication, the most frequent ones being diarrhoea, pneumonia and respiratory failure each reported in four cases, followed by hepatitis-increased transaminases (3 cases)”.
“In Italy measles is not an emergency as is happening in other countries, from Asia to South America. But we definitely vaccinate children, and even adults who know they are not immunized can get vaccinated. The message must be that it should not be lowered the guard on this disease, which can be very serious. Let’s not forget that it is a super contagious virus”, epidemiologist Massimo Ciccozzi tells Adnkronos Salute.
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