2024-01-25T13:19:12+00:00
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The European branch of the World Health Organization has warned that the number of measles cases in Europe will rise significantly in 2023, compared to a year ago, calling for intensifying vaccination efforts.
Statistics published by the World Health Organization showed that 42,200 infections were recorded during the year 2023, in 41 of the 53 member states in the region extending to Central Asia, that is, about 45 times more than in 2022, during which it was reported that 941 infections were recorded.
Kazakhstan and Russia are the countries most affected by the disease. More than 10,000 cases were recorded in each. As for Western Europe, the most noticeable return of the disease was in the United Kingdom, where 183 cases were recorded.
During the first ten months of 2023, the period covered by the WHO analysis, the increase was 30 times compared to the same period in 2022.
Measles infections increased 30-fold
A statement quoted WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge as saying that “not only was there a 30-fold increase in measles cases in the region,” but also “about 21,000 hospitalizations and five measles-related deaths were recorded. This is worrying.” .
He believed that “urgent vaccination efforts are needed to stop the transmission of infection and prevent its spread.”
The resurgence of this highly contagious viral disease, which can cause fatal complications and is spread through the air, has been attributed to a decline in vaccination coverage during the coronavirus years.
The organization explained that “the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the performance of the vaccination system during this period, which led to an accumulation of unvaccinated or insufficiently vaccinated children.”
The World Health Organization, which calls for intensifying campaigns to raise awareness of unvaccinated communities, reported that more than 1.8 million infants in the region were not vaccinated against measles between 2020 and 2022.
This disease, which manifests itself in a skin rash preceded by inflammation of the nose and conjunctiva, and a cough accompanied by high fever and extreme fatigue, can affect all age groups.
But in 2023, two out of every five cases involved children between one and four years of age, while the proportion of cases among those over 20 years old was one in five.
At the local level, at least 95% of children should be vaccinated to avoid an outbreak. By 2022, only 92% of European children have received a second dose of the vaccine.