The number of measles cases in Europe has risen from 900 to more than 42,000 in a year, according to WHO.

Europe saw a high rise in cases last year measlesa highly contagious viral disease that primarily affects children; according to World Health Organization. Although measles is a disease that occurs primarily among children, measles affected all age groups in 2023, with significant differences in the age distribution of cases between countries.

Overall, two out of five cases were in children aged 1 to 4 years and one in five cases were in adults aged 20 years or older. Year to date through October, there were 20,918 hospitalized cases and two countries reported five measles-related deaths. This is the recurrence of a disease for which there is no specific treatment and which may have serious complications such as blindness, encephalitis, acute diarrhea, ear infections and pneumonia, is largely due to declining coverage vaccination in countries between 2020 and 2022.

According to available data WHONational first dose coverage in the European region has reportedly fallen from 96 percent in 2019 to 93 percent in 2022, while second dose coverage has fallen from 92 percent in 2019 to 91 percent in 2022.

In total, for the period from 2020 to 2022, more than 1.8 million babies were not vaccinated against measles, also commonly known as “el colorín”. Likewise, the resumption of domestic and international travel and the lifting of social and public health measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic have increased the risk of cross-border transmission of the disease and spreading within communities, especially among the unvaccinated or undervaccinated.

Additionally, cases have been reported in many countries where measles has been declared eliminated as an endemic disease, so unless all communities maintain very high routine childhood vaccination rates (at least 95%), these countries that have achieved measles elimination still at risk major outbreaks and is alarming after the virus was imported from other latitudes, the UN agency says.

In this context, WHO Europe indicated that several countries in the region have begun systematic immunization campaigns, while supporting countries with large outbreaks in investigating, identifying and vaccinating exposed contacts. It also supports the implementation of infection control in health care settings, raising awareness and addressing public concerns, improving disease surveillance, and planning and implementing immunizations in response to outbreaks.

However, all countries, even those where there is no measles transmission yet, must carefully assess their immunity gaps and program deficiencies and take immediate steps to address them. “Vaccination is the only way to protect children from this potentially dangerous disease. Required urgent efforts to stop transmission and prevent further spread.

“It is vital that all countries are prepared to quickly detect and respond to measles outbreaks, as this could jeopardize progress towards its elimination,” WHO Europe Director Hans Henri P. Kluge said recently. Thus, to move forward again toward eliminating measles, it is critical that countries achieve and maintain more than 95 percent coverage with two doses of measles vaccine. Therefore, all countries should give priority to achieving high coverage of systematic vaccination and closing immunity gaps.