In the general analysis announced on March 13, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said there were 127,350 measles cases, resulting in at least 38 deaths, in Europe in 2024, according to a newspaper, The Guardian. The European region according to WHO’s management decentralization consists of 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia.
The number of measles in Europe has doubled in 2024. In the photo, a medical staff at the hospital in the capital Podgorica, Montenegro vaccinated measles for a girl
Most cases of disease are people who have not vaccinated or unclear vaccination.
The above figure accounted for 1/3 of the measles cases that were announced in the world last year. In Europe, Romania accounted for the most with 30,692 cases of disease, followed by Russia and Kazakhstan. More than 50,000 cases are children under 5 years old. About 60% of infections need hospitalization.
“Measles has returned and this is a wake -up scene. Without a high vaccination rate, there will be no medical security,” WHO director in Hans Henri Kluge said.
Health officials associate the above figure with the rate of vaccination in many countries that have not returned to the level of Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023, the number of children injected with the first measles vaccine decreased by 10% compared to 2019. Besides, in 2023, about 500,000 children to the age of measles vaccine but did not inject.
Some cases are overloaded by the Health System in Covid-19 pandemic, according to the European and Central Asian immunization program director of Unicef Fatima Cengic. Another reason is that the wrong information spreads to the vaccination, especially since Covid-19 broke out.
“We call on governments to review all children who have not been vaccinated and ensure that children can be injected promptly. We need to make sure parents understand that they need to look at trusted sources.
Measles is an acute infection caused by Polinosa Morbillarum virus, often causing fever, rash and infection. The disease is easy to spread through the air when the patient talks, coughs, sneezes, and the tiny drops of viruses can float in the air for 2 hours after the patient goes away The Guardian. Measles can lead to complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis and blindness.
