Measles Cases and Status of Immunisation
According to a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 10.3 million measles cases were recorded worldwide last year. This data indicates a 20 per cent increase in cases worldwide compared to 2022. The new annual report revealed that measles cases increased by more than 200 per cent in the European region compared to last year. In Central Asia, it shows that the number of cases increased from about 99,700 in 2022 to more than 306,000 in 2023.
Emphasising that measles is a highly contagious virus that mostly affects children and can be prevented with only two doses of vaccine, experts state that 95 per cent or more of a country or community should be vaccinated to prevent measles outbreaks.
Decline in Immunisation
According to the new report, only 83 per cent of children worldwide received the first dose of measles vaccine last year, while less than three-quarters received the second dose. Dr Natasha Crowcroft, Senior Technical Advisor for Measles and Rubella at WHO, said at a press conference: “The increase in cases is due to a pause in global immunisation coverage. Every country in the world has access to measles vaccine, so there is no reason why any child should contract the disease and no child should die from measles.”
The WHO report states that immunisation has prevented 60.3 million measles deaths since 2000. By 2023, an estimated 22 million children had not received their first dose of measles vaccine. Crowcroft states that most of these children live in low-income countries and in fragile or conflict-affected areas where the risk of death from measles is highest.
Situation in Europe
Regarding the large increase observed in Europe, Crowcroft noted that the number of cases has increased from less than 100,000 to more than 300,000, “Although there has been an increase of over 200 per cent, the absolute figures are much smaller.” Experts emphasise that this is due to the halt in vaccination coverage and the increase in the number of epidemics.
The report found that the number of cases in Europe remained relatively low compared to other regions. According to another recent report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 30 European Union and European Economic Area countries reported a total of more than 18,000 measles cases between September 2023 and August 2024. Among these countries, Romania had the highest number of measles cases in the EU, with more than 14,000 cases reported in that period.
Health organisations have previously warned of an alarming increase in measles cases in Europe due to insufficient vaccination coverage. Globally, the European region, including parts of Central Asia, has the second lowest number of measles cases after the Americas. The region with the highest number of cases is Africa, with an estimated 4.8 million cases. Southeast Asia has the second highest number of measles cases with an estimated 2.9 million cases.
