‘World’s most infectious disease’ rockets 200% across Europe and under 5s most at risk, WHO warns

CASES of one of the world’s most infectious diseases rocketed by more than 200 per cent across Europe in just a year, a chilling report warns.

It comes amid a global surge of the illness, to which children under the age of five are most vulnerable, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

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Measles is highly contagious, as it spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.

It tends to infect the respiratory tract before spreading throughout the body, causing a high temperature, cough, runny nose and telltale rash.

In rare cases, measles can result in serious complications such as blindness, brain swelling and pneumonia, which can prove fatal.

Getting vaccinated is the best protection from getting measles and spreading the virus to others.

But waning vaccination rates across the world are fuelling an increase in measles cases, health chiefs warned.

A joint report by WHO and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said an estimated 10.3 million cases of measles had been reported worldwide in 2023 – marking a 20 per cent increase from 2022.

As a result of global gaps in vaccination coverage, 57 countries suffered large or disruptive measles outbreaks in 2023.

This is a nearly 60 per cent increase from the measles outbreaks seen in 36 countries the previous year.

A particularly large surge in cases was detected in Europe.

According to the report, there were 306,375 cases in the region – up from 99,700 cases in 2022.

Dr Natasha Crowcroft, senior technical advisor for measles and rubella at WHO, said this amounted to a more than 200 per cent increase, as reported by Euronews.

Speaking at a press conference, she said: “There was a really big increase in the European region, but it went from just under 100,000 cases to just over 300,000 cases.”

This was due to slowed vaccination rates and an increase in the number of epidemics, experts said.

But the report shows that the number of cases in Europe remains relatively low compared to other regions.

“So, even though it was an over 200 per cent increase, the absolute numbers are much smaller,” Dr Crowcroft noted.

Data compiled by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) found that 18,000 measles cases were flagged between September 2023 and August 2024 in 30 European countries.

Romania had the highest number of measles cases in the EU, with more than 14,000 reported cases during that period.

But high numbers of measles infections were also reported in Italy, Belgium, Austria and France.

British travellers were also warned to be wary of measles this past summer, as popular holiday destinations such as Spain saw rising infections.

Preventable deaths

According to the report, an estimated 107,500 people, mostly children younger than five, died due to measles in 2023.

Although this marks an 8 per cent decrease in fatalities from the previous year, WHO and the CDC said far too many children are still dying from this preventable disease.

This slight reduction in deaths was mainly because the surge in cases occurred in countries and regions where children with measles are less likely to die, due to better access to health services and food, the report noted.

Measles can be prevented with two doses of the measles vaccine.

But the the report flagged that more than 22 million children missed their first dose of measles vaccine in 2023.

Across the globe, an estimated 83 per cent of children received the first dose of their measles jab last year, while only 74 per cent had the recommended second dose.

To prevent measles outbreaks, 95 per cent or more of a country or community needs to be vaccinated against the illness.

“The stagnation in [measles vaccine] coverage means millions of children remain unprotected, leading to increases in cases and outbreaks,” WHO and the CDC stated.

“Urgent and targeted efforts are needed to ensure that all children receive 2 measles vaccine doses and that surveillance is strengthened to hasten progress toward measles elimination.”

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, added: “Measles vaccine has saved more lives than any other vaccine in the past 50 years.

“To save even more lives and stop this deadly virus from harming the most vulnerable, we must invest in immunisation for every person, no matter where they live.”

Measles cases in the UK

During 2024, England weathered its largest outbreak of the previously eradicated disease in over a decade.

A report released by the UK Health Security Agency this month said there have been 2,601 confirmed measles cases reported in England since January 2024.

An unnamed child is believed to have died from the disease in the first quarter of the year.

“There was a rapid increase in cases in late 2023 driven by a large outbreak in Birmingham at the time,” the health watchdog said.

“There was subsequently a rise in cases in London and small clusters in other regions, but case counts have followed a downward trajectory since mid-July.”

In the UK, protection from measles is given through the MMR vaccine, which combats measles, mumps and rubella.

The MMR vaccine is recommended for all babies and young children, but older children and adults can have it if they were not vaccinated when they were younger.

Babies are given one dose of the jab at one year old, followed by a second dose at three years and four months.

Vaccinations for the deadly disease are at a 12-year low, official figures reveal.

Only 84 per cent of kids have had both MMR (measles, mumps and ruebella) vaccine doses by age five; this figure needs to be above 90 per cent to stop outbreaks.

A staggering 3.4million under-16s in Britain are at risk of catching the virus as they have only had one or neither MMR jab.