Measles highest in 25 years in Europe, WHO says

The number of measles cases in the European region doubled last year to reach the highest level in 25 years, health officials say.

A joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN children's fund, Unicef, said children under the age of five accounted for more than 40% of the cases reported in Europe and central Asia.

"Measles is back, and it's a wake-up call," Hans Henri Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, said. "Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security."

The MMR vaccine - which immunises people against measles, mumps and rubella - is 97% effective in fighting off the dangerous virus.

Measles is a highly contagious disease which is spread by coughs and sneezes.

The measles virus can lead to pneumonia, brain swelling and death.

The WHO/Unicef joint analysis covering 53 countries said there had been 127,350 measles cases reported in the European region in 2024 - the highest since 1997.

A total of 38 deaths had been reported up to 6 March 2025.

Measles cases, they added, had been declining since 1997, but the trend reversed in 2018-19 and cases rose significantly in 2023-24 "following a backsliding in immunisation coverage during the Covid-19 pandemic".

"Vaccination rates in many countries are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, increasing the risk of outbreaks," they warned.

The WHO/Unicef statement concluded that measles remained "a significant global threat" and urged governments where cases were occurring to take quick action - and those where the virus had not arrived to be prepared to act.

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Source: BBC News, 13 March 2025