2024-01-25 21:37:35
He Measles has experienced an alarming resurgence in Europe over the past year, with more than 30,000 cases reported in 2023, marking a 30-fold increase compared to the previous year. This worrying trend has led to the World Health Organization (WHO) to launch an urgent call to intensify vaccination campaigns in the region.
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Expansion of measles in Europe
Between January and October 2023, more than 30,000 cases of measles have been recorded in 40 of the 53 Member States of the European region, which extends to Central Asia.
In contrast, last year only 941 cases were recorded. Kazakhstan and Russia are the most affected countries, each with more than 10,000 cases, while the UK has seen a significant resurgence with 183 cases, despite being considered eradicated in 2021.
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Serious impact on public health
The drastic increase in cases has also led to a worrying number of hospitalizations, with nearly 21,000 people admitted due to measles, along with five deaths related to the disease. Hans Kluge, regional director of the WHO, has expressed his concern about this situation and has urged urgent measures to stop the spread of the virus through vaccination campaigns.
Causes of the resurgence
The decline in vaccination rates during the years of COVID-19 pandemic is identified as the main cause of the resurgence of measles. The pandemic significantly affected the operation of vaccination programs, resulting in a backlog of unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children.
Between 2020 and 2022, more than 1.8 million newborns in the European region did not receive the measles vaccine. To prevent a virus outbreak, At least 95% of children are required to be vaccinated locally, while in 2022, only 92% of European minors had received the second dose of the vaccine.
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